47 Tucanae

Globular cluster

From the Sun

14,700 light-years

Open in 3D Wikipedia

Open in 3D

Picture: ESO/M.-R. Cioni/VISTA Magellanic Cloud survey. Acknowledgment: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit

What it is

The second-brightest globular cluster, seen beside the Small Magellanic Cloud though nowhere near it.

The picture hangs at that distance facing Earth, as large as it is on the sky; how deep the object is cannot be seen, so it is flat.

The picture

Taken by: European Southern Observatory
Picture spans: about 200 ly
From the Sun: 14,700 light-years
RA / Dec: 6.02° / -72.08°
Credit: ESO/M.-R. Cioni/VISTA Magellanic Cloud survey. Acknowledgment: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit

47 Tucanae

47 Tucanae is a globular cluster located in the constellation of Tucana. It is about 4.45 ± 0.01 kpc (14,500 ± 32.6 ly) from Earth, and 120 light years in diameter. 47 Tuc can be seen with the naked eye, with an apparent magnitude of 4.1. It appears about 44 arcminutes across including its far outreaches.

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