# Messier 62

Messier 62
Messier 62 by Hubble Space Telescope; 1.65′ view
Credit: NASA/STScI/WikiSky
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Class IV[1]
Constellation Ophiuchus
Right ascension 17h 01m 12.60s[2]
Declination –30° 06′ 44.5″[2]
Distance 22.2 kly (6.8 kpc)[3]
Apparent magnitude (V) +7.39[2]
Apparent dimensions (V) 15′.0
Physical characteristics
Mass 1.22×106[3] M
Metallicity ${\displaystyle {\begin{smallmatrix}\left[{\ce {Fe}}/{\ce {H}}\right]\end{smallmatrix}}}$ = –1.02[5] dex
Estimated age 11.78 Gyr[5]
Other designations NGC 6266, GCl 51[2]
See also: Globular cluster, List of globular clusters

Messier 62 (also known as M62 or NGC 6266) is a globular cluster in the constellation Ophiuchus. It was discovered in 1771 by Charles Messier.

M62 is at a distance of about 22,500 light-years from Earth and measures some 100 light-years across. From studies conducted in the 1970s it is known that M62 contains the high number of 89 variable stars, many of them of the RR Lyrae type. It also contains several X-ray sources, thought to be close binary star systems, as well as millisecond pulsars in binary systems.

## References

1. ^ Shapley, Harlow; Sawyer, Helen B. (August 1927), "A Classification of Globular Clusters", Harvard College Observatory Bulletin (849): 11–14, Bibcode:1927BHarO.849...11S.
2. ^ a b c d "SIMBAD Astronomical Database". Results for NGC 6266. Retrieved 2006-11-17.
3. ^ a b Boyles, J.; et al. (November 2011), "Young Radio Pulsars in Galactic Globular Clusters", The Astrophysical Journal 742 (1): 51, arXiv:1108.4402, Bibcode:2011ApJ...742...51B, doi:10.1088/0004-637X/742/1/51.
4. ^ distance × sin( diameter_angle / 2 ) = 49 ly. radius
5. ^ a b Forbes, Duncan A.; Bridges, Terry (May 2010), "Accreted versus in situ Milky Way globular clusters", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 404 (3): 1203–1214, arXiv:1001.4289, Bibcode:2010MNRAS.404.1203F, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.16373.x.