Map of the Universe

M67

Open star cluster · Old open cluster in the constellation Cancer

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M67
Picture: Chuck Ayoub, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

About M67

M67 is about 2,731 light-years from the Sun, so the light we see from it left about 2,731 years ago.

It is 28,949 light-years from the centre of the Milky Way.

The map lists it as an open star cluster and shows it among the stars around the Sun, drawn on the plane of the Milky Way.

One of the oldest known open clusters, 3–5 billion years old.

Key numbers

Distance2,731 light-years (837 pc)
Distance from the Galactic centre28,949 light-years
Galactic coordinatesl = 215.69°, b = +31.93°
Member stars (Gaia)1,844
Age1.69 billion years
Mass (observed)2,762 solar masses
Half-member radius8.1 light-years

Data: Hunt & Reffert 2024.

Where it is

Its place in the universe, from the inside out: Orion–Cygnus Arm (Local Arm) › Milky Way › Local Group › Virgo Supercluster › Laniakea Supercluster › Observable universe.

Zoom out to see it in context: Local Arm, a view about 12,000 light-years across.

From Wikipedia

Messier 67 and sometimes called the King Cobra Cluster or the Golden Eye Cluster is an open cluster in the southern, equatorial half of Cancer. It was discovered by Johann Gottfried Koehler in 1779. Estimates of its age range between 3.2 and 5 billion years.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Messier 67, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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