M92, Luca Gamberini

M92

M92, Luca Gamberini

M92

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Description

M92 is a globular cluster of stars visible in the constellation of Hercules; its position on the celestial vault places it among the northernmost globular clusters of the sky.
It was discovered by Johann Elert Bode in 1777 and independently rediscovered by Charles Messier on March 18, 1781, who placed it in his catalog. In 1783, William Herschel was the first to resolve the cluster into stars.
M92 is located 26,000 light years from us and is therefore a little further away than its neighbor M13. The concentration of stars in the center of the cluster is considerable and its angular extension of 11.2 ′ corresponds to an effective diameter of 85 light years. Inside, only 16 variable stars have been discovered, 14 of which are of the RR Lyrae type.
The mass of M92 is approximately 300,000 solar masses. It approaches us at a speed of 110 km / s.
Estimates based on the color of the stars indicate an age of 13 billion years; it is therefore one of the oldest known globular clusters

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M92, Luca Gamberini