Messier 56 is a globular cluster in Lyra.

The cluster is located 4.5 degrees southeast of Sulafat (Gamma Lyrae) on a line towards Albireo (Beta Cygni).

It has a visual magnitude of 8.4 and is 8.8 arcminutes in diameter. It is located 32,900 light-years away. At that distance it would have a true size of 84 light-years in diameter.

M56 is thought to be ancient at 13 billion years old. It orbits in the opposite direction from the spin of the Milky Way. It may be the remnants of a dwarf galaxy that was cannibalized by the Milky Way.

The brightest stars in M56 are 13th magnitude, but most are 15th magnitude and fainter.

M56 was discovered by Charles Messier in 1779.

North is to the top in the above image.

Messier 56 Catalogs: M56, NGC 6779 Object Type: Globular Cluster Magnitude: 8.4v Size: 8.8' Constellation: Lyra Image Field Centered At: RA: 19h 16m 35s Dec: +30° 10' 50"