Sagittarius A*
The Quintuplet is seen (in the infra-red) 12 arc-minutes NW of Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*). The cluster stars and associated objects such as the Pistol Nebula have large radial velocities only likely to be from orbiting close to the galactic centre, so the cluster is thought to be physically associated with the galactic centre. The galactic centre is considered to be about 8 kpc away, so the projected distance of the Quintuplet on the sky is 30 pc from Sagittarius A*.