NGC 6712

Globular Cluster NGC 6712, class IX, in Scutum

[NGC 6712, M. Germano]
Right Ascension 18 : 53.1 (h:m)
Declination -08 : 42 (deg:m)
Distance 22.5 (kly)
Visual Brightness 8.1 (mag)
Apparent Dimension 7.4 (arc min)

Probably discovered by Le Gentil on July 9, 1749.
Discovered by William Herschel on June 16, 1784.

This globular cluster was probably discovered by Le Gentil on July 9, 1749 when investigating the Milky Way star cloud in Aquila, and described by him as a "true nebula," in contrast to the open star cluster M11. It was independently discovered by William Herschel on June 16, 1784 and cataloged as H I.47; he also first classified it as a round nebula. John Herschel observed it from the Cape of Good Hope in the 1830s, and first described it as a globular star cluster; it is h 3762 in his 1847 catalog, and GC 4441 in his General Catalogue of 1864. In 1866, William Huggins found it to have a continuous spectrum, proving that it is composed of stars and not a gaseous nebula.

The image in this page is a photograph by Martin Germano.

  • More images by Martin Germano

  • Marco Castellani's data for NGC 6712
  • Christine Clement's Catalog of Variable Stars in NGC 6712
  • SIMBAD Data of NGC 6712
  • Publications on NGC 6712 (NASA ADS)
  • Observing Reports for NGC 6712 (IAAC Netastrocatalog)
  • NGC Online data for NGC 6712

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    Christine Kronberg
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    Last Modification: January 23, 2014