M53 is a large, distant globular cluster in Coma Berenices made of ancient, tightly packed, metal-poor stars.
What It Is
A large, distant globular cluster made up of ancient, tightly packed stars with very low heavy-element content.
History
Later rediscovered and cataloged by Messier, helping solidify its place in deep-sky observing.
Science Notes
- Stars here are metal-poor, meaning they formed early in the universe.
- Contains blue stragglers, suggesting stellar interactions and mergers.
- One of the more distant globular clusters in the Messier catalog.
- age
- ~11-13 billion years
- distance
- ~58,000-60,000 light-years (~340-350 quadrillion miles)
- width
- ~200-220 light-years (~1.2-1.3 quadrillion miles)
