A close neighbor to M69 in Sagittarius is the
globular cluster M70. This cluster is nearly identical to its
neighbor in size and brightness, although it is just a bit
larger. It is also somewhat more distant, located about 28,000
light-years from Earth. It is believed to be around 65
light-years in diameter. Like M69, this cluster is also very low
in the southern sky and is difficult to observe from northern
locations. It is rapidly receding from us at a speed of about
200 km/sec. M70 became somewhat famous in 1995 when the comet
Hale-Bopp was discovered near it by two astronomers who were
observing the cluster. With a magnitude of 7.9, it makes a good
candidate for binocular observing.
