Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

M4: The Closest Known Globular Cluster

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for May 23, 2000 is “M4: The Closest Known Globular Cluster,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Credit & Copyright: T2KA , KPNO 0.9-m Telescope , NOAO , AURA , NSF). The original explanation runs about 134 words.

M4: The Closest Known Globular Cluster
Credit & Copyright: T2KA , KPNO 0.9-m Telescope , NOAO , AURA , NSF Copyrighted Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“M4 is a globular cluster visible in dark skies about one degree west of the bright star Antares in the constellation Scorpius . M4 is perhaps the closest globular cluster at 7000 light years , meaning that we see M4 only as it was 7000 years ago, near the dawn of recorded human history .”

— APOD editors, May 23, 2000

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
May 23, 2000
Type
Image
Credit
Credit & Copyright: T2KA , KPNO 0.9-m Telescope , NOAO , AURA , NSF
Copyright
Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 134 words

All of May 2000 → · 2000 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

Star clusters

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: May 23 in other years

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.