One of the closest globular clusters to Earth, M22 is perfectly placed to observe tonight near the lid of Sagittarius’ Teapot.
Step outside tonight in the early evening, when Sagittarius lies above the southwestern horizon. Globular cluster M22 shines brightly at magnitude 5.1, readily observable with binoculars or any size telescope. It’s far from the Full Moon, increasing your chances of a good view tonight.
You can find this ancient ball of stars some 2.5° northeast (to the upper left) of Lambda (λ) Sagittarii, the top of the Teapot asterism’s lid. Photographically M22 is about the size of the Full Moon in the sky, although visually its extent is closer to 20’. That still makes it ideal for lower powers, while you can zoom in with higher powers to explore its star-packed center. (M22 contains some 70,000 stars at least.) At just 10,000 light-years from Earth, it’s one of the closest such clusters to our planet, which boosts its brightness in our sky.
Sunrise: 7:03 A.M.
Sunset: 6:32 P.M.
Moonrise: 6:41 P.M.
Moonset: 7:37 A.M.
Moon Phase: Full
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 12 P.M. local time from the same location.
For a look ahead at more upcoming sky events, check out our full Sky This Week column.
