Messier 56 (also known as NGC 6779) is a globular cluster in the constellation Lyra. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1779. M56 is at a distance of about 32,900 light-years from Earth and measures roughly 84 light-years across.
The brightest stars in M56 are of 13th magnitude while it contains only about a dozen known variable stars like V6 (RV Tauri star; period: 90 days) or V1 (Cepheid: 1.510 days); other variable stars are V2 (irregular) and V3 (semiregular).
Images by Simon Dawes
Images by Debra Holton
Images by Andrew Wilson
