M30 NASA

M30 · globular cluster

Messier 30

Messier 30 is a globular cluster of stars in the southeast of the southern constellation of Capricornus, at about the declination of the Sun when the latter is at December solstice.

RA21h 40m 22sDec−23° 10' 43"

Image: NASA/ESA. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

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Identity & coordinates

Identification

Primary designation
M30
All designations
M30 · NGC 7099
Object type
Globular Cluster
Constellation
Capricornus
Best viewing
Summer · Autumn

Coordinates & physical

Right ascension (J2000)
21h 40m 22s
Declination (J2000)
−23° 10' 43"
Apparent magnitude (V)
Distance
III

Visibility tonight

V

The science

Messier 30 is a globular cluster of stars in the southeast of the southern constellation of Capricornus, at about the declination of the Sun when the latter is at December solstice. It was discovered by the French astronomer Charles Messier in 1764, who described it as a circular nebula without a star. In the New General Catalogue, compiled during the 1880s, it was described as a "remarkable globular, bright, large, slightly oval." It can be easily viewed with a pair of 10×50 binoculars, forming a patch of hazy light some 4 arcminutes wide that is slightly elongated along the east–west axis. With a larger instrument, individual stars can be resolved and the cluster will cover an angle of up to 12 arcminutes across graduating into a compressed core about one arcminute wide that has further star density within.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia · CC-BY-SA-4.0

VII

References

Wikipedia title resolved via designation — fell back to an alternate catalog designation.

1 merge conflict resolved
  • coordinates: SIMBAD missing → NED used