Messier 79

RA:

05:24:11.09

Dec:

-24:31:29.0

Distance from Sun:

42.1 kly

Distance from Galactic Center:

61.3 kly

Apparent Diameter:

9.6 arc min

Brightness:

7.73 mag vis

Radial Velocity:

+205.8 +/- 0.4 km/s

Diameter:

107 ly

Abs. Mag:

-7.86 Mag vis

In 2003, it was found that this cluster is probably a former member of the Canis Major Dwarf galaxy discovered that year. More recent research has revealed that this object probably doesn't exist, and is just a chance density wave in the Galactic disk; M79 and the other globulars previously thought to be associated with it have their probable origin in another progenitor satellite galaxy. That object has merged with the Milky Way about 9 billion years ago. This progenitor satellite was found in 2018 from the analysis of astrometrical data acquired by the Gaia satellite, and was named "Gaia Sausage" or "Gaia Enceladus".

• More on M 79 (SEDS Messier Database)
• Catalog of Variable Stars in M79 (Christine Clement)
• Holger Baumgardt's Fundamental Data for M79 (NGC 1904)