Object Analysis

Messier 62 (M62) is a globular cluster in the constellation Ophiuchus. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1771. Like its neighbor M19, M62 is located very close to the Galactic Center (about 6,100 light-years) and is notably asymmetrical.

M62 has a very dense core that has undergone core collapse, a process where stars migrate inward to form a hyper-compact center. The cluster is positioned so that the tidal forces of the galaxy pull on it unevenly, giving it an "off-center" appearance where the density of stars is higher on one side than the other.

Located about 22,200 light-years from Earth, M62 is known to contain a high number of X-ray binaries. It was also the first globular cluster in which a stellar-mass black hole was identified using radio observations, challenging the old belief that black holes would be kicked out of globular clusters by gravitational interactions.