Celestial Objects
Messier 79
Star Clusters
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Messier 79, also known as M79 or NGC 1904, is a globular cluster of stars in the constellation Lepus, discovered by Pierre Mechain in 1780. It lies roughly 41,000 light-years from Earth and is unusual among Messier's globular clusters for lying in the southern winter sky rather than toward the Galactic Center; some researchers have proposed it may be a captured cluster originally belonging to the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy.
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