| Description | M12 was discovered by Messier himself -- #4 so far -- on May 30, 1764: "[T]his nebula doesn't contain any star, it is round & its light faint.... M. Messier has reported it on the second Chart of the Comet observed in 1769." <--> M12 is a "typical" Messier GC, ranking 12th in brightness and 11th in size (out of 29). The brightest part of the core appears highly unsymmetrical, stretching wide at a nearly 45° angle, but if you extend the measurement to include the more moderately endowed regions it's nearly circular at 1070 x 1000 pixels (1.07 ratio). The blue stars convey an almost spiral overlay. This combination of star colors and moderate asymmetry make M12 more distinctive than most Messier GCs, which I find challenging to recognize. In the Catskills, seeing and transparency were poor this evening, making my usual pursuit of tiny Arp Galaxies impossible. Instead I collected M10, M12, and M14. I did, however, add a supplemental observation from March 2025 to the gallery, captured under good, pre-dawn conditions. |
