M 92
Globular Cluster M92 (NGC 6341), class IV, in
![[m92.gif]](large/m92.gif)
| Right Ascension | 17 : 17.1 (h:m) |
|---|---|
| Declination | +43 : 08 (deg:m) |
| Distance | 26.4 (kly) |
| Visual Brightness | 6.4 (mag) |
| Apparent Dimension | 11.2 (arc min) |
According to newer sources, M92 is about 26,000 light years distant, only little more than its brighter apparent neighbor M13.
Clicca sull'immagine per ingrandirla
From its HRD (or CMD), it may be a bit younger than M13 as its turnoff point is shifted to the brighter and bluer end. A semi-recent estimate of M92's age has given a value of about 16 billion years (anyway more than 14 billion years), see e.g. the diagram in Sky & Telescope, January 1996, p. 22 (text on p. 20). However, this value is now again under discussion because of the general modifications of the distance scale of the universe, implied by results of ESA's astrometrical satellite Hipparcos: These results suggest that M92, as well as most other globular clusters, may be at a 10 per cent larger distance; therefore, the intrinsical brightness of all their stars must be about 20 % higher. Considering the various relations which are important for understanding stellar structure and evolution, they should also be roughly 15 % younger, in a preliminary off-hand estimate. For M92, Harris' globular cluster database lists an only little modified value of 26,400 (former 26,100) light years, though, so that the quoted result might stay valid after all.
M92 is a splendid object, visible to the naked eye under very good conditions and a showpiece for every optics. It is only slightly less bright but about 1/3 less extended than M13: its 11.2' angular extension corresponds to a true diameter of 85 light years, and may have a mass of up to 330,000 suns.
Only about 16 variables have been discovered in this globular, 14 of which are of RR Lyrae type, while one of them is one of the very few eclipsing binaries in globular clusters, of W Ursae Majoris type. Although Burnham claims it is not well understood why eclipsing binaries are so rare in globulars, it appears to the present author that there may be a simple answer: In these dense stellar agglomerates, close encounters occur frequently, so that binary systems will be disturbed, and on the long term, will be destroyed.
M92 is approaching us at 112 km/sec.
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