m12

M12, designated Messier 12 (M12), is a globular cluster in the Milky Way, located in the southern sky within the boundaries of the constellation Ophiuchus. It is one of the objects cataloged by Charles Messier in 1771 while he compiled his list of nebulous objects to avoid as potential comets.

Physically, M12 is a dense, spheroidal assembly of hundreds of thousands of old stars bound by gravity. Like other globular clusters, it orbits the galactic center in the halo and is metal-poor compared with younger disk stars, reflecting its early formation in the galaxy’s history.

Distance and age: Current estimates place M12 at roughly 14,000 to 20,000 light-years from the Sun, with an age around 12 to 13 billion years.

Observational characteristics: The cluster has an apparent magnitude around 5.5 to 6.0, making it visible only with binoculars or a small telescope under good dark-sky conditions. Its apparent size is small, typically a few arcminutes across, and its stars blend into a faint fuzzy patch in small instruments.

Scientific significance: M12 is used to study stellar evolution in dense environments, the dynamical evolution of globular clusters, and the structure and formation history of the Milky Way’s halo.