Messier 4
Image Credit & Copyright:
Steve Crouch
Messier 4 can be found
west of bright red-giant star Antares,
alpha star of the constellation Scorpius.
M4 itself
is only just visible from dark sky locations,
even though the globular cluster of 100,000 stars or so
is a mere 5,500 light-years away.
Still, its proximity to prying telescopic eyes makes it a prime
target for astronomical explorations.
Recent studies have included Hubble observations of M4's pulsating
cepheid variable stars, cooling white dwarf stars, and
ancient, pulsar orbiting
exoplanet PSR B1620-26 b.
This sharp image was captured with a
small telescope on planet Earth.
At M4's estimated distance it spans about 50 light-years
across the core of the globular star cluster.