Globular cluster · Ophiuchus

Messier 12

M12 · NGC 6218

Above the horizon after darkHighest after dark 20:20 · southwest · 21°

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Where is Messier 12?

Times for LondonChange city

Look southwest, about 21° up at 20:20 in Ophiuchus. It sinks lower through the evening and sets at 22:44.

From London tonight, Messier 12 is above the horizon after dark. It’s highest soon after dark, around 20:20, in the southwest at 21°.

At magnitude 6.1, with its light spread out, it needs binoculars and a dark sky.

This is position and timing only: clouds, haze and light pollution aren’t included.

Not visible

Too faint to see by eye.

A small, fuzzy ball of light.

The edges break up into stars at medium magnification in larger telescopes.

What you’re likely to see, not what a space telescope photographs. General guidance from catalog brightness and size, not a forecast for tonight.

Messier 12 (M12) is a globular cluster in Ophiuchus, with a total brightness of magnitude 6.1 and an apparent size of 11′.

Sources: OpenNGC (CC BY-SA 4.0); star chart: Wikidata (CC0). Positions computed for your place and time with astronomy-engine. Data & Licences