🔭 M12

Globular cluster in Ophiuchus

M12 is a globular cluster in the constellation Ophiuchus, with an apparent magnitude of about 6.7, roughly 15.7 thousand light-years away.

Data

Catalogue designation	M12
Object type	Globular cluster
Constellation	Ophiuchus
NGC / IC	NGC 6218
Apparent magnitude	6.7
Distance (approx.)	15.7 thousand light-years

What a globular cluster is

A dense, spheroidal ball of hundreds of thousands of old stars orbiting a galaxy’s halo. Through a small telescope they look like fuzzy stars; in a large one they resolve into glittering swarms.

Other Messier objects in Ophiuchus: M9, M10, M14, M19, M62, M107.

Data: Messier catalogue & IAU constellations, via English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0) · stored statically.