Messier 23 (M23) is a bright, large open star cluster located in the constellation Sagittarius. The cluster lies at a distance of 2,150 light years, or 659 parsecs, from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 6.9. It has the designation NGC 6494 in the New General Catalogue.
Read More »Messier 23
Messier 21 (M21) is an open cluster located in the southern constellation Sagittarius. It has an apparent magnitude of 6.5. The cluster lies at an approximate distance of 4,250 light years from Earth. Its designation in the New General Catalogue is NGC 6531.
Read More »Messier 21
Messier 20 (M20), also known as the Trifid Nebula, is a famous star-forming region located in the constellation Sagittarius. The nebula’s designation in the New General Catalogue is NGC 6514. The name Trifid refers to its three-lobed appearance. Messier 20 consists of several different objects: an emission nebula, a reflection nebula, a dark nebula and an open star cluster.
Read More »Messier 20: Trifid Nebula
Messier 18 (M18) is a relatively dim open star cluster located in the constellation Sagittarius. The cluster lies at an approximate distance of 4,900 light years, or 1,500 parsecs, from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 7.5. Its designation in the New General Catalogue is NGC 6613.
Read More »Messier 18
Messier 16 (M16), the famous Eagle Nebula, is a star-forming nebula with a young open star cluster located in Serpens. M16 lies near the borders with the constellations Sagittarius and Scutum. The nebula is best known for the Pillars of Creation region, three large pillars of gas famously photographed by Hubble in 1995.
Read More »Messier 16: Eagle Nebula
Messier 11 (M11), popularly known as the Wild Duck Cluster, is a rich, compact open cluster located in the southern constellation Scutum
Read More »Messier 11: Wild Duck Cluster
Messier 8 (M8), also known as the Lagoon Nebula, is a large, bright emission nebula located in the constellation Sagittarius. The star-forming nebula has an apparent magnitude of 6.0 and lies at a distance of 4,100 light years from Earth. It has the designation NGC 6523 in the New General Catalogue.
Read More »Messier 8: Lagoon Nebula