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Astronomy: Messier 2 a globular star cluster
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Beneath the south pole of our Milky Way Galaxy lies the second object of Charles Messier's list of bright diffuse sky objects, a ball of over 100.000 stars. M2 is known as a globular cluster, and orbits the center of our Galaxy like nearly 200 other globular clusters left over from the early days of our universe. M2 spans over 150 light years, lies only 50.000 light years away (although our nearest star system lies only 4 light years away), and can be seen with binoculars towards the constellation of Aquarius. Determining the distances and ages to globular clusters like M2 constrains the scale and age of our entire universe. Related subjects>> Messier catalog of 110 deep sky objects>> Charles Messier >> Milky Way Galaxy |
 A group of over 100.000 stars orbiting the center of our Milky Way Galaxy. |
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