File:The_star_cluster_Messier_7.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Messier 7 is an open star cluster, a group of stars that formed together and are still loosely bound by gravity, located about 800 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius. It's easily visible to the naked eye under clear skies and has been observed by astronomers since ancient times, making it one of the most recognizable star clusters in the night sky.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- open cluster
- Part of
- Orion Arm
- Constellation
- Scorpius
- Distance from Earth
- 300
- Radius
- 9
- Image
- The star cluster Messier 7.jpg
Show 18 more facts
- Commons gallery
- Messier 7
- catalog code
- [KPS2012] MWSC 2739
- parallax
- 3.5704
- Commons category
- Messier 7
- discoverer or inventor
- Ptolemy
- time of discovery or invention
- 0130-00-00
- apparent magnitude
- 3.45
- spectral class
- I
- radial velocity
- -14.84
- right ascension
- 268.4625
- declination
- -34.7933
- epoch
- J2000.0
- metallicity
- 0.02
- angular diameter
- 80
- age estimated by a dating method
- 220000000
- different from
- M7
- right ascension component of proper motion
- 3.072
- declination component of proper motion
- -5.315
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Encyclopedic overview
Messier 7 or M7, also designated NGC 6475 and sometimes known as Ptolemy's 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. With a declination of −34.8°, it is the southernmost Messier object.
Observations
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Messier 7” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.