Messier 62

Quality 0.50 · 1 view · Updated 2 months ago

Globular cluster in the constellation Ophiuchus

title: "Messier 62" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["globular-clusters", "ophiuchus", "messier-objects", "ngc-objects", "astronomical-objects-discovered-in-1771", "discoveries-by-charles-messier"] description: "Globular cluster in the constellation Ophiuchus" topic_path: "general/globular-clusters" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_62" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Globular cluster in the constellation Ophiuchus ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox globular cluster"]

Field	Value
name	Messier 62
image	[[File:Messier62 - HST - Potw1915a.jpg
caption	Messier 62 by the Hubble Space Telescope
epoch	J2000
class	IV
constellation	Ophiuchus
ra
dec
dist_ly	6.6 ±
appmag_v	6.5
absmag_v	−9.18.
size_v
mass_msol
radius_ly	48 ly
radius_tidal_ly	18.0 pc.
metal_fe	–1.02
age	11.78 Gyr
names	C 1658-300, GCl 51, M62, NGC 6266
::

Messier 62 or M62, also known as NGC 6266 or the Flickering Globular Cluster, is a globular cluster of stars in the south of the equatorial constellation of Ophiuchus. It was discovered in 1771 by Charles Messier, then added to his catalogue eight years later.

M62 is about from Earth and from the Galactic Center. It is among the ten most massive and luminous globular clusters in the Milky Way, showing an integrated absolute magnitude of −9.18. It has an estimated mass of and a mass-to-light ratio of in the core visible light band, the V band. It has a projected ellipticity of 0.01, meaning it is essentially spherical. The density profile of its member stars suggests it has not yet undergone core collapse. It has a core radius of 0.39 pc, a half-mass radius of 2.95 pc, and a half-light radius of 1.83 pc. The stellar density at the core is per cubic parsec. It has a tidal radius of 18.0 pc.

The cluster shows at least two distinct populations of stars, which most likely represent two separate episodes of star formation. Of the main sequence stars in the cluster, are from the first generation and from the second. The second is enriched by elements released by the first. In particular, abundances of helium, carbon, magnesium, aluminium, and sodium differ between these two.

Indications are this is an Oosterhoff type I, or "metal-rich" system. A 2010 study identified 245 variable stars in the cluster's field, of which 209 are RR Lyrae variables, four are Type II Cepheids, 25 are long period variables, and one is an eclipsing binary. The cluster may prove to be the galaxy's richest in terms of RR Lyrae variables. It has ten binary millisecond pulsars, including one (M62B) that is displaying eclipsing behavior from gas streaming off its companion, and one (M62H) with an orbiting exoplanet about three times the mass of Jupiter. There are multiple X-ray sources, including 50 within the half-mass radius. 47 blue straggler candidates have been identified, formed from the merger of two stars in a binary system, and these are preferentially concentrated near the core region.

It is hypothesized that this cluster may be host to an intermediate mass black hole (IMBH) – it is considered well-suited for searching for such an object. A brief study, before 2013, of the proper motion of stars within of the core did not require an IMBH to explain. However, simulations can not rule out one with a mass of a few thousand in M62's core. For example, based upon radial velocity measurements within an arcsecond of the core, Kiselev et al. (2008) made the claim of an IMBH in M15, likewise with mass of .

Gallery

Messier 62 Hubble WikiSky.jpg|Messier 62 by the Hubble Space Telescope; field of view M62HunterWilson.jpg|Globular Cluster M62 - wide field view M62map.png|Map showing the location of M62.

References and footnotes

| title=Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders: From Novice to Master Observer | first1=Robert | last1=Thompson | first2=Barbara | last2=Thompson | series=DIY science | publisher=O'Reilly Media, Inc | year=2007 | isbn=978-0596526856 | page=332 | postscript=. | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ymt9nj_uPhwC&pg=PA332 }}

| title=The properties of Galactic globular cluster subsystems | last1=Mackey | first1=A. D. | last2=van den Bergh | first2=Sidney | journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society | volume=360 | issue=2 | pages=631–645 | date=June 2005 | doi=10.1111/j.1365-2966.2005.09080.x | doi-access=free | bibcode=2005MNRAS.360..631M | arxiv=astro-ph/0504142 | s2cid=15709239 | postscript=. }}

| title=A catalogue of masses, structural parameters, and velocity dispersion profiles of 112 Milky Way globular clusters | last1=Baumgardt | first1=H. | last2=Hilker | first2=M. | journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society | volume=478 | issue=2 | pages=1520–1557 | date=August 2018 | doi=10.1093/mnras/sty1057 | doi-access=free | bibcode=2018MNRAS.478.1520B | arxiv=1804.08359 | postscript=. }}

| title=The Dynamical State and Blue Straggler Population of the Globular Cluster NGC 6266 (M62) | last1=Beccari | first1=G. | last2=Ferraro | first2=F. R. | last3=Possenti | first3=A. | last4=Valenti | first4=E. | last5=Origlia | first5=L. | last6=Rood | first6=R. T. | journal=The Astronomical Journal | display-authors=1 | volume=131 | issue=5 | pages=2551–2560 | date=May 2006 | doi=10.1086/500643 | bibcode=2006AJ....131.2551B | arxiv=astro-ph/0601187 | s2cid=8259349 | postscript=. }}

| title=A Puzzling Millisecond Pulsar Companion in NGC 6266 | last1=Cocozza | first1=G. | last2=Ferraro | first2=F. R. | last3=Possenti | first3=A. | last4=Beccari | first4=G. | last5=Lanzoni | first5=B. | last6=Ransom | first6=S. | last7=Rood | first7=R. T. | last8=D'Amico | first8=N. | journal=The Astrophysical Journal Letters | display-authors=1 | volume=679 | issue=2 | page=L105 | date=June 2008 | doi=10.1086/589557 | bibcode=2008ApJ...679L.105C | arxiv=0804.3574 | s2cid=16826859 | postscript=. }}

| title=Time-series Photometry of Globular Clusters: M62 (NGC 6266), the Most RR Lyrae-rich Globular Cluster in the Galaxy? | last1=Contreras | first1=R. | last2=Catelan | first2=M. | last3=Smith | first3=H. A. | last4=Pritzl | first4=B. J. | last5=Borissova | first5=J. | last6=Kuehn | first6=C. A. | journal=The Astronomical Journal | display-authors=1 | volume=140 | issue=6 | pages=1766–1786 | date=December 2010 | doi=10.1088/0004-6256/140/6/1766 | bibcode=2010AJ....140.1766C | arxiv=1009.4206 | s2cid=118515997 }}

| title=Helium and multiple populations in the massive globular cluster NGC 6266 (M 62) | last1=Milone | first1=A. P. | journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society | volume=446 | issue=2 | pages=1672–1684 | date=January 2015 | bibcode=2015MNRAS.446.1672M | arxiv=1409.7230 | doi=10.1093/mnras/stu2198 | doi-access=free | postscript=. }}

| title= The Dynamical Distance, RR Lyrae Absolute Magnitude, and Age of the Globular Cluster NGC 6266 | last1=McNamara | first1=Bernard J. | last2=McKeever | first2=Jean | journal=The Astronomical Journal | postscript=. | volume=142 | issue=5 | id=163 | pages=4 | date=November 2011 | doi=10.1088/0004-6256/142/5/163 | bibcode=2011AJ....142..163M | doi-access=free }}

| last1=Harris | first1=W.E. | title=A Catalog of Parameters for Globular Clusters in the Milky Way | journal=Astronomical Journal | postscript=. | volume=112 | pages=1487 | year=1996 | doi=10.1086/118116 | bibcode=1996AJ....112.1487H }} Note: 1997 data update. --

| last1=Shapley | first1=Harlow | last2=Sawyer | first2=Helen B. | title=A Classification of Globular Clusters | journal=Harvard College Observatory Bulletin | volume=849 | issue=849 | pages=11–14 | date=August 1927 | bibcode=1927BHarO.849...11S | postscript=. }}

| last1=Forbes | first1=Duncan A. | last2=Bridges | first2=Terry | title=Accreted versus in situ Milky Way globular clusters | journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society | volume=404 | issue=3 | pages=1203–1214 | date=May 2010 | doi=10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.16373.x | doi-access=free | bibcode=2010MNRAS.404.1203F | postscript=. | arxiv=1001.4289 | s2cid=51825384 }}

| last1=Boyles | first1=J. | last2=Lorimer | first2=D. R. | last3=Turk | first3=P. J. | last4=Mnatsakanov | first4=R. | last5=Lynch | first5=R. S. | last6=Ransom | first6=S. M. | last7=Freire | first7=P. C. | last8=Belczynski | first8=K. | title=Young Radio Pulsars in Galactic Globular Clusters | journal=The Astrophysical Journal | volume=742 | issue=1 | page=51 | date=November 2011 | doi=10.1088/0004-637X/742/1/51 | bibcode=2011ApJ...742...51B | postscript=. | arxiv=1108.4402 | s2cid=118649860 }}

| title=A Search for an Intermediate-mass Black Hole in the Core of the Globular Cluster NGC 6266 | last1=McNamara | first1=Bernard J. | last2=Harrison | first2=Thomas E. | last3=Baumgardt | first3=Holger | last4=Khalaj | first4=Pouria | journal=The Astrophysical Journal | display-authors=1 | volume=745 | issue=2 | id=175 | pages=7 | date=February 2012 | doi=10.1088/0004-637X/745/2/175 | bibcode=2012ApJ...745..175M | s2cid=119528711 | url=http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:271632/UQ271632_OA.pdf }}

References

"Messier 62".
distance × sin( diameter_angle / 2 ) = 48 ly. radius
(2022). "Precise distances from OGLE-IV member RR Lyrae stars in six bulge globular clusters". Astronomy & Astrophysics.
"M 62".
(March 2024). "Discoveries and timing of pulsars in M62". [[Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society]].

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::