Messier 2 (also M2, NGC 7089, HD 205146 and GCL 121) is a magnitude +6.3 globular star cluster located 37,500 light-years away in the constellation Aquarius. The cluster can be found five degrees north of the star Beta Aquarii.
The cluster was discovered by Italian-born astronomer Jean-Dominique Maraldi using a 12.7 cm (5-inch) 10.4 metre (34-foot) focal length Campani refracting telescope at the Paris Observatory on the 11th September 1746. The cluster was recorded by French astronomer Charles Messier using a 8.38 cm (3.3-inch) refracting telescope at the Hôtel de Cluny, in Paris, France on the 11th September 1760.
Right Ascension 21h 33m 27.2s, Declination -00° 49' 22"
Charles Messier rediscovered it in 1760, but thought it a nebula without any stars associated with it. William Herschel, in 1783, was the first to resolve individual stars in the cluster. Read more