M53 and NGC 5053

M53 (the cluster of stars on the lower left) and NGC 5053 (the pale haze on the right). NGC 5053 lies just over 53,000 ly from us, meaning it lies within our Milky Way Galaxy. It lies about 58,000 ly from the galactic centre. It is an exceptionally faint, low-density object with a scattering of stars, estimated to number around 3,500. It is gravitationally bound to its large neighbour, M53. The two objects are separated in the sky by just 1°. M53 contains about 500,000 stars and lies about 58,000 ly from us. It is estimated to be over 12.5 billion years old, meaning it contains some of the oldest stars. One theory suggests that this cluster was gravitationally captured by the Milky Way and is part of the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy. The diameter of the M53 is 220 ly.