H-NGC6712
Globular Cluster in Scutum
About
A globular cluster in Scutum about 26,000 light-years away. Le Gentil probably spotted it in 1749 and called it a true nebula. It has likely lost much of its mass to tidal stripping, and it hosts a black-widow pulsar whose measured acceleration is only possible inside a cluster.
Imaging tips
- About 7′ across: 3460–5770 mm on APS-C is the range that frames it.
- Moderately faint at 21.1 mag/arcsec², and it sits in a rich star field.
- One imager took 3 hours 5 minutes of RGB in 5-minute subs at 3,940 mm, about 0.4″ per pixel.
- The planetary nebula IC 1295 appeared in the same imager's earlier frame, taken at a shorter focal length.
- Best around June and July; it stays below 32° altitude from 50°N.
Facts
- Size
- 7′
- Magnitude
- 8.2
- Coordinates
- RA 18h 53.1m, Dec −8° 42′
- Framing, APS-C
- 3460–5770 mm
- Framing, full frame
- longer than 4000 mm
- Best months
- Jun, Jul
- Peak altitude
- 31° from 50°N, 46° from 35°N