Globular cluster
2MASS-GC01 (2MS-GC01)
Globular cluster
A globular cluster of hundreds of thousands of old stars orbiting in the Galaxy’s halo: among the oldest objects of the Milky Way, about 12 billion years old. Distance, brightness and structure come from the Harris catalogue.
| Type | Globular cluster |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Sagittarius |
| Distance | 3,600 pc (11.7 thousand ly) |
| Half-light radius | 1.7 pc |
| Central concentration (c) | 0.85 |
| Source | Harris 1996 (2010) |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 18h 08m 21.8s |
| Declination (J2000) | −19° 49′ 47″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 70° N. South of latitude 70° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in June, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 12 thousand years ago. At that time the first farming villages were being founded; there was no writing yet. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 208 million years.