• Key Information

  • Messier 4

  • Type
    Globular Cluster
  • Diameter
    75 light years
  • Distance
    7,200 light years
  • Date of Discovery
    1745 (Philippe Loys de Chéseaux)
  • Learning Point
  • Messier 4 was one of the first globular clusters, or ball like clusters of stars, that was discovered and identified as outside of our Solar System. It contains millions of stars, and can be seen through most small telescopes.
  • Project
  • Find out some other famous globular clusters, and also the first one to be discovered.
  • Location
  • Located in
    Scorpius, Milky Way
  • Fun Facts
  • Messier 4, also called M4, was discovered by Philippe Loys de Chéseaux in 1745, and catalogued by Charles Messier in 1764
  • It appears about the same size as the Moon in the sky and is one of the easiest globular clusters to find.
  • It is loosely connected together, called a Class 9 (IX) in the Shapley–Sawyer Concentration Class.
  • In diameter, it is about 75 light years across, and contains stars from two cycles of star formation.