Messier 54

RA:

18:55:03.33

Dec:

-30:28:47.5

Distance from Sun:

86.4 kly

Distance from Galactic Center:

61.6 kly

Apparent Diameter:

12.0 arc min

Brightness:

7.60 mag vis

Radial Velocity:

+141.3 +/- 0.3 km/s

Diameter:

190 ly

Abs. Mag:

-9.98 Mag vis

This cluster is probably a member of the Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy (SagDEG), or Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy (Sgr dSph), the nearby dwarf galaxy discovered in 1994, which is currently in a close and perhaps final encounter before its tidal disruption, with our Milky Way Galaxy.

• More on M 54 (SEDS Messier Database)
• Catalog of Variable Stars in M54 (Christine Clement)