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TOPIC: Messier 7

Blobrana

L

Posts: 131433

Date: Jun 14 07:32 2014

Ptolemy Cluster	Permalink

On May 23, 1764, French astronomer Charles Messier catalogued the cluster as the seventh member in his list of comet-like objects. English astronomer John Herschel described it as "coarsely scattered clusters of stars". Read more __________________

Blobrana

L

Posts: 131433

Date: Feb 19 19:51 2014

NGC 6475	Permalink

Messier 7: Diamonds in the Tail of the Scorpion A new image from ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile shows the bright star cluster Messier 7. Easily spotted with the naked eye close to the tail of the constellation of Scorpius, it is one of the most prominent open clusters of stars in the sky - making it an important astronomical research target. Messier 7, also known as NGC 6475, is a brilliant cluster of about 100 stars located some 800 light-years from Earth. In this new picture from the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope it stands out against a very rich background of hundreds of thousands of fainter stars, in the direction of the centre of the Milky Way. Read more __________________

Blobrana

L

Posts: 131433

Date: Jun 8 17:19 2009

Messier 7	Permalink

Spoiler Spoiler Messier 7 or M7, also designated NGC 6475 and sometimes known as known as the Ptolemy 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. It has been known since antiquity; it was first recorded by the 1st century astronomer Ptolemy, who described it as a nebula in 130 AD. Giovanni Batista Hodierna observed it before 1654 and counted 30 stars in it. Charles Messier catalogued the cluster in 1764 and subsequently included it in his list of comet-like objects as 'M7'. Telescopic observations of the cluster reveal about 80 stars within a field of view of 1.3° across. At the cluster's estimated distance of 800-1000 light years this corresponds to an actual diameter of 18-25 light years. The age of the cluster is around 220 million years while the brightest star is of magnitude 5.6. (Information courtesy of Wikipedia) __________________

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