Messier 22 is a large, bright globular cluster located in the constellation of Sagittarius.

At a distance of 10,400 light-years away, it is one of the nearest globular clusters.

M22 contains more than 100,000 stars, the brightest of which is 11th magnitude.

M22 is brighter and larger than the northern hemisphere showcase globular M13, and is the third brightest globular cluster in the sky behind Omega Centauri and 47 Tucanae, both of which are southern hemisphere objects.

At 32 arcminutes in diameter, M22 is larger in apparent size than the full Moon and has a true size of 97 light-years in space. Shining at magnitude 5.1, its size and brightness make it observable with the unaided eye from a dark-sky location if it gets high enough above the horizon. Because it lies near the direction of the galactic center, it is somewhat reddened and obscured by dust.

M22 was discovered in 1665 by Abraham Ihle.

M22 also contains planetary nebula GJCC1. It is rare for a globular cluster to contain a planetary nebula - only four are known. This planetary nebula was discovered in 1986 by Fred Gillett with the IRAS satellite. It is estimated to be only 6,000 years old compared to the age of M22 itself, which is estimated to be 12 billion years old.

North is to the top in the above image.

M22 Catalogs: M22, NGC 6656 Object Type: Globular Cluster Magnitude: 5.2v Size: 32' Constellation: Sagittarius Image Field Centered At: RA: 18h 37m 14s Dec: -23° 53' 22"