Messier 70 Archives

Welcome back to Messier Monday! Today, we continue in our tribute to our dear friend, Tammy Plotner, by looking at the globular cluster known as Messier 70.

In the late 18th century, French astronomer Charles Messier spent much of his time looking up at the night sky in search of comets. Over time, he discovered 100 fixed, diffuse objects that resembled comets, but were something else entirely. Messier compiled a list of these objects, hoping to prevent other astronomers from making the same mistake. What resulted was the Messier Catalog, one of the influential catalogs of Deep Sky Objects.

One of the objects he catalogued is Messier 70 (aka. NGC 6681), a globular cluster located 29,300 light years away from Earth and close to the Galactic Center. It’s location within the asterism known as the “Tea Pot” (which is part of the northern Sagittarius constellation). It is also in close proximity to both the M54 and M69 globular clusters. Continue reading “Messier 70 – the NGC 6681 Globular Cluster”

Welcome back to Messier Monday! Today, we continue in our tribute to our dear friend, Tammy Plotner, by looking at the globular cluster known as Messier 69.

In the 18th century, while searching the night sky for comets, French astronomer Charles Messier kept noting the presence of fixed, diffuse objects he initially mistook for comets. In time, he would come to compile a list of approximately 100 of these objects, hoping to prevent other astronomers from making the same mistake. This list – known as the Messier Catalog – would go on to become one of the most influential catalogs of Deep Sky Objects.

One of these objects is known as Messier 69 (NGC 6637), a globular cluster located in the constellation Sagittarius. Located about about 29,700 light-years away from Earth, this cluster lies close to Messier 70 (both of which were discovered Charles Messier on August 31st, 1780). Both objects lie close to the galactic center, and M69 is one of the most metal-rich globular clusters known. Continue reading “Messier 69 – the NGC 6637 Globular Cluster”