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 Messier 2 (M2 or NGC 7089) is one of the largest and oldest globular clusters in the Milky Way, located about 37,500 to 55,000 light-years away in the constellation Aquarius. Discovered in 1746, this ancient 13-billion-year-old cluster contains over 150,000 stars tightly bound by gravity within a diameter of roughly 175 light-years. M2 is located about 5 degrees north of the bright star Beta Aquarii (Sadalsuud) and lies 10 degrees southwest of Epsilon Pegasi. At an apparent magnitude of 6.3, it sits on the threshold of naked-eye visibility but is best viewed with binoculars or a small telescope. The best time to observe M2 is late summer to early autumn, particularly in October when it reaches its highest point in the night sky.Unlike most globular clusters, M2 has a slightly elliptical shape. Its core is extraordinarily dense, packing hundreds of thousands of stars into a central region just 3.7 light-years across. Because of its high stellar density, it belongs to Class II on the Shapley-Sawyer concentration scale. The cluster is also home to about 21 known variable stars—primarily RR Lyrae variables—which astronomers use to measure distances in space.Globular clusters like Messier 2 are some of the oldest objects in the universe, dating back to the very dawn of the Milky Way. Astronomers study M2 to understand the early history and formation of galaxies. Recently, astronomers utilizing astrometrical data from the Gaia satellite have mapped M2's orbit, discovering that it takes roughly 205 million years to complete one lap around the Galactic Center on an extremely elliptical path. Image Credit ESA/Hubble & NASA