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Messier 23 is a pretty bright open cluster in the constellation Sagittarius. Located at about 2,000 light years from us, it contains about 200 stars (estimates range from 165 to 400 stars, but the most probable number is between 180 and 250 stars). Considered to be a rather old open cluster (330 million years old), it lies in front of a very populated region of the Milky Way, close (angularly) to M8, M20 and M21.
Additional Information
Object
Name(s): Messier 23, M23, NGC 6494
Type: Open Cluster
RA: 17h 57m 03s
Dec: -18º 58’ 54”
Constellation: Sagittarius
Size (arcmin): 30×30 arcmin
Magnitude: +5.5
Distance: 2,000 ly
Image
Date: 2021-06-06
Location: iTelescope.net, SSO near Coonabarabran, NSW Australia
Size (arcmin): 50×50 arcmin
Telescope: 20” f/4.4 Reflector
Camera: FLI PL09000 (3056x3056pix)
Guiding: N/A
Total exposure: 3 h (R:G:B 1:1:1h, synthetic Luminance made from them)
Processing: CCDStack, Photoshop CC 2021