(forgive the early post, I'm leaving for the Oregon Star Party in a few minutes!)
NGC 6453_HST.JPG
NGC 6453 is one of those objects that’s easy to locate, isn’t terribly difficult to see, but is wonderfully fascinating once you know a little about it.
NGC 6453 is a globular cluster that’s seen through M7’s western border, so it has no relation to the spectacular open cluster – it just happens to be in the same lie of sight. 6453 is approximately 33,000 light-years away, which places it on the opposite side of the galactic center from the Sun. And it’s about 2,700 light-years below the galactic plane, putting it outside the Milky Way’s disk, like many other globular clusters.
And yet, in spite of all the 33,000 light years of intervening gas and dust near the heart of the Milky Way, it still manages a visual magnitude of 9.2, making it accessible to anyone with an 8-inch or larger scope. Even if you have little interest in M7, this improbably observable globular cluster is a must-see.
M7 finder sketch.jpg
Depending on the source, the apparent diameter of NGC 6453 is anywhere from 21.5? to 7.6? across. Given my observations, I favor the smaller diameter.
With my 8-inch f/3.3 scope, NGC 6453 was a small, fuzzy glow without any resolution into individual stars. I could resolve only a few stars with the 30-inch, and there’s a good chance they’re just foreground stars.
But at best, I can observe this part of the sky when 6453 is only about 9 degrees above the southern horizon. Perhaps I’d have a better chance to resolve the cluster if it were higher in the sky for another go. Let us know what you’ve seen!
NGC 6453 sketch_30 inch.jpg
(PS - Don’t forget to enjoy M7 while you’re here…)
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