NGC 5466

NGC 5466 is a 9.0-magnitude globular cluster with a rather loose, open structure. It can be resolved in a 10 inch telescope, and has an apparent diameter of 11 arcminutes.

NGC 5466 was discovered by William Herschel on May 17, 1784, and cataloged as H VI.9 following its discovery.

Located 51,800 light years from Earth and 52,800 light years from the Galactic center, this globular cluster is unusual. Its spectral distribution of stars contains a blue horizontal branch, and is usually metal poor.

NGC 5466 is thought to be the source of a stellar stream discovered in 2006. This star stream is a 1.4°-wide star lane extending from Bootes to Ursa Major. As NGC 6544 orbits the center of the Milky Way, it is slowly losing stars due to the effect of tides at perigalacticon and galactic disc crossings, having lost 60% of its mass loss over the course of its evolution. Its tails are very extended (45°) in SDSS data, hence called the 45 Degree Tidal Stream.