Globular Star Cluster M-79 (NGC 1904)

Description of M-79 in The Deep Sky Field Guide to Uranometria 2000:

Brightest stars = magnitude 13.0;
horizontal branch stars magnitude = 16.2;
concentration: moderate

Dreyer's description of M-79 in the New General Catalog(NGC):

Globular cluster, pretty large, extremely rich in stars, extremely compressed, well resolved.

Globular Cluster M-79 is in the constellation of Lepus and is about 46,000 light years away, and 110 light years in diameter. (But Click here for the latest news on Globular Star Cluster distances and ages!!) P. Mechain discovered it on Oct. 26th, 1780, but it was possibly seen in 1654 by Hodierna. Visually, M-79 is not a particularly spectacular globular, but it is fully resolved in our 20 inch telescope at 320x. Only the outer portions are resolved in a 10 inch telescope.

• M-79, NGC 1904
• Magnitude: 8.0
• Constellation: Lepus
• RA: 05h 24m 30.0s
• Dec: -24°33'00" Epoch 2000
• Size (mins) 8.7
• Classification: Globular Cluster
  

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George Normandin, KAS

April 29th, 1999
Revised Dec. 31, 2000