M 24
Sagittarius Star Cloud

Right Ascension:
18h 18m 24s

Best Seen:
7/8 - 10/14

Declination:
-18º 26' 00"

Magnitude:
4.6

Computer File:
M24

Constellation:
Sagittarius

Actual

Compared to

Distance

10,000 - 16,000 l.y.

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Actual Brightness

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Number of stars

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Diameter

~ 200 l.y.

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Age

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Integrated Spectral Type

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WHAT TO LOOK FOR THROUGH THE TELESCOPE:

  1. Recommended eyepiece: 80 mm on the 6" telescope (Do not use the 16").

  2. Through the telescope the star cloud will appear as an area of the sky with a high density of stars with a couple dark regions imbedded.

M 24 INFORMATION:

  1. This Messier object is not a true deep sky object but rather a star cloud in our Milky Way. It is often referred to as the “Little” or “Small Sagittarius Star Cloud”.

  2. Under considerably dark skies M24 is easily visible to the unaided eye as a Milky Way star cloud in Northern Sagittarius.

  3. Under less favorable conditions a small telescope will make M24 visible.

  4. This cloud of stars is spread over thousands of light years along the line of sight and lies toward the center of our Milky Way Galaxy.

  5. Its visibility to us is made possible by a chance hole in the interstellar dust that is concentrated in the plane of our galaxy.

Item
Updated Notes

16-14-2007
Originally created