Astronomy Picture of the Day · March 23, 2012

Messier 9 Close-up

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for March 23, 2012 is “Messier 9 Close-up,” an image. It is credited to Credit: ESA/Hubble , NASA. The original explanation runs about 133 words.

From the explanation

“Renown 18th century astronomer Charles Messier described this 9th entry in his famous astronomical catalog as “Nebula, without star, in the right leg of Ophiuchus …”. But Messier 9 (M9) does have stars, known to modern astronomers as a globular cluster of over 300,000 stars within a diameter of about 90 light-years.”

— APOD editors, March 23, 2012

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date: March 23, 2012
Type: Image
Credit: Credit: ESA/Hubble , NASA
Copyright: No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length: About 133 words

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Topics in this entry

Nebulae Star clusters Hubble Space Telescope

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: March 23 in other years

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Source

Astronomy Picture of the Day, March 23, 2012 — science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2012-march-23-messier-9-close-up

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.