File:M12_Hubble.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Messier 12 is a dense, spherical collection of hundreds of thousands of ancient stars located in the constellation Ophiuchus, about 15,000 light-years away from Earth. It's one of the most famous globular clusters catalogued by astronomers and serves as an important object for studying the age and composition of some of the oldest stars in our galaxy.
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Wikidata facts
- Distance from Earth
- 0.005
- Radius
- 38
- Image
- M12 Hubble.jpg
Show 13 more facts
- metallicity
- -1.15
- right ascension component of proper motion
- -0.29
- catalog code
- [KPS2012] MWSC 2464
- Commons category
- Messier 12
- time of discovery or invention
- 1764-05-30
- Commons gallery
- Messier 12
- apparent magnitude
- 6.653
- radial velocity
- -43.5
- absolute magnitude
- -7.31
- spectral class
- IX
- right ascension
- 251.809083
- declination
- -1.948528
- declination component of proper motion
- -10.61
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Article
Messier 12 or M 12 (also designated NGC 6218) is a globular cluster in the constellation of Ophiuchus. It was discovered by the French astronomer Charles Messier on May 30, 1764, who described it as a "nebula without stars". In dark conditions this cluster can be faintly seen with a pair of binoculars. Resolving the stellar components requires a telescope with an aperture of 8 in (20 cm) or greater. In a 10 in (25 cm) scope, the granular core shows a diameter of 3′ (arcminutes) surrounded by a 10′ halo of stars.
M12 is roughly 3° northwest from the cluster M10 and 5.6° east southeast from star Lambda Ophiuchi. It is also located near the 6th magnitude 12 Ophiuchi. The cluster is about 16,400 light-years (5,000 parsecs) from Earth and has a spatial diameter of about 75 light-years. The brightest stars of M12 are of 12th magnitude. M10 and M12 are only a few thousand light-years away from each other and each cluster would appear at about magnitude 4.5 from the other. With a Shapley-Sawyer rating of IX, it is rather loosely packed for a globular and was once thought to be a tightly concentrated open cluster. Thirteen variable stars have been recorded in this cluster. M12 is approaching us at a velocity of 16 km/s.