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NGC6530

Open Star Cluster
within M8 - Lagoon Nebula - Messier #8

Right Ascension 18h 04m 48s Best Seen 8/1 - 10/1
Declination -24° 20' 00" Magnitude 4.6
Constellation Sagittarius

Actual
Compared
to Sun
Distance 5,200 ly --
Diameter 20 ly --
Number of Stars 50 - 100 hundred 1
Actual Brightness -- --
Age 2 million years 5 billion
Integrated Spectral Type -- G2 V
Density (gram/cubic cm) -- --

What To Look For Through The Telescope


  1. Recommended eyepiece: 40mm or 80 mm.

  2. Through the telescope the cluster will appear as a group of individual stars.


NGC6530 INFORMATION:


  1. This cluster was first discovered by Giovanni Batista Hodierna before 1654. It was independently found by John Flamsteed in 1680.

  2. This is a very young group of stars - only a few million years old.

  3. These stars formed from a portion of the Lagoon nebula. The cluster is just in front of the nebula.

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References
Item Updated Notes
Coordinates 2003-01-05 tweaked a bit
Magnitude 2003-01-05 previously: 6.3 – BUT can find no info to support this, can only find 4.6 (on SEDs and other sites)
Distance 2003-01-05 previously 5,150 ly – BUT rounded up with http://www.seds.org/messier/xtra/ngc/n6530.html
Actual Brightness --
Number of Stars 2003-01-05 previously 25 – BUT http://www.seds.org/messier/xtra/ngc/n6530.html says 50 - 100
Diameter 2003-01-05 previously said 115 ly. – BUT for Lagoon Nebula, SEDs site gave 90x40 arcmin, corresponding to 140x60 ly if distance of 5,200 ly is correct. Using this conversion, and holding distance to be same for cluster, SEDs gives 14 arcmin for NGC 6530, which corresponds to 21 ly.
Age 2003-01-05 OK with http://www.seds.org/messier/xtra/ngc/n6530.html
Integrated Spectral Type --
Other Information 2003-01-05 from http://www.seds.org/messier/xtra/ngc/n6530.html