M4 -a jewel in the thorax of the Scorpion (Andrew Lockwood)

Celestial hemisphere: Southern · Constellation: Scorpius (Sco) · Contains: M 4 · NGC 6121

M4 -a jewel in the thorax of the Scorpion, Andrew Lockwood

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M4 -a jewel in the thorax of the Scorpion

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M4 -a jewel in the thorax of the Scorpion

M4 is 7200 light years away in the constellation Scorpio, and about 75 light years in diameter. A fairly loose example of a globular cluster, it was discovered in 1745 and added by Charles Messier to his 'book of blobs' in 1764, as the fourth object. At an estimated mass of 6700 solar masses, it's a bit of a lightweight compared to 47 Tucanae or Omega Centaurus.

This cluster is close enough for many measurements of stars composition to have been made, and the low metallicity indicates a very old age for most of these stars. In fact the HST has identified white dwarf stars 13 billion years old in here.

The colours of the stars are likely to be reddened by the amount of intragalactic dust in the way, as this is close to the magnificent star clouds around Antares and rho Ophiucus.

Suburban Astrophotography

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M4 -a jewel in the thorax of the Scorpion

M4 -a jewel in the thorax of the Scorpion

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M4 -a jewel in the thorax of the Scorpion

M4 -a jewel in the thorax of the Scorpion

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