* Astronomy

Members Login
Username 
 
Password 
    Remember Me  
Post Info TOPIC: Messier 7


L

Posts: 131433
Date:
Ptolemy Cluster
Permalink  
 


On May 23, 1764, French astronomer Charles Messier catalogued the cluster as the seventh member in his list of comet-like objects. English astronomer John Herschel described it as "coarsely scattered clusters of stars".
Read more

 



__________________


L

Posts: 131433
Date:
NGC 6475
Permalink  
 


Messier 7: Diamonds in the Tail of the Scorpion

eso1406a.jpg

A new image from ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile shows the bright star cluster Messier 7. Easily spotted with the naked eye close to the tail of the constellation of Scorpius, it is one of the most prominent open clusters of stars in the sky - making it an important astronomical research target.
Messier 7, also known as NGC 6475, is a brilliant cluster of about 100 stars located some 800 light-years from Earth. In this new picture from the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope it stands out against a very rich background of hundreds of thousands of fainter stars, in the direction of the centre of the Milky Way.

Read more



__________________


L

Posts: 131433
Date:
Messier 7
Permalink  
 


Spoiler

 

Spoiler


Messier 7 or M7, also designated NGC 6475 and sometimes known as known as the Ptolemy Cluster, is an open cluster of stars in the constellation of Scorpius.
The cluster is easily detectable with the naked eye, close to the "stinger" of Scorpius. It has been known since antiquity; it was first recorded by the 1st century astronomer Ptolemy, who described it as a nebula in 130 AD. Giovanni Batista Hodierna observed it before 1654 and counted 30 stars in it. Charles Messier catalogued the cluster in 1764 and subsequently included it in his list of comet-like objects as 'M7'.
Telescopic observations of the cluster reveal about 80 stars within a field of view of 1.3° across. At the cluster's estimated distance of 800-1000 light years this corresponds to an actual diameter of 18-25 light years. The age of the cluster is around 220 million years while the brightest star is of magnitude 5.6.

(Information courtesy of Wikipedia)



__________________
Page 1 of 1  sorted by
Quick Reply

Please log in to post quick replies.



Create your own FREE Forum
Report Abuse
Powered by ActiveBoard