Globular cluster · Sagittarius

M70

Also known as: NGC 6681

mag 8.18′ across

About

M70 is a globular cluster of magnitude 8.1 in Sagittarius, about 8′ across.

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How to find it

  • M70 is in the constellation Sagittarius.
  • Best evenings: around mid-August it is highest at about 9 pm (10 pm in summer time); a month earlier, two hours later.
  • Where on Earth: it is seen well, at least 10° up, from south of 48° N.

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When it rises and sets tonight, how high it climbs and how much the Moon gets in the way are worked out in your browser for your place.

What you will see

  • EyesNot visible to the naked eye.
  • Binoculars (10×50)A small fuzzy star.
  • Telescope (6–8 inch)A bright round glow; its edges break into stars at high power.

For a dark country sky with no Moon. From a city, faint galaxies and nebulae can disappear completely.

Facts

DesignationsM70, NGC 6681
TypeGlobular cluster
Magnitude8.1The smaller the number, the brighter.
Apparent size8′the full Moon is 31′ across
Surface brightness≈ 21.2 mag/arcsec²Estimate from the magnitude and size, per square arcsecond.
ConstellationSagittarius
Right ascension (J2000)18h 43m 12.6s
Declination (J2000)−32° 17′ 31″

More in Sagittarius

Sources and credits

Catalog data: OpenNGC by Mattia Verga, CC BY-SA 4.0, and d3-celestial by Olaf Frohn, BSD 3-Clause. All data sources →