M12 - The Gumball Globular
Sat Apr 11 2026
Messier 12, nicknamed the Gumball Globular, is a dense ball of hundreds of thousands of ancient stars in the constellation Ophiuchus. It lies about 16,000 light-years away and spans roughly 75 light-years across. Globular clusters like this are among the oldest objects in our galaxy, and through a telescope M12 resolves into a glittering scatter of stars that really does look like a jar of gumballs.
About this object
- Type
- Globular Cluster
- Constellation
- Ophiuchus (the Serpent Bearer)
- Apparent magnitude
- 6.1
- Apparent size
- 11.1′
- Catalogue designations
- M 12, NGC 6218
Acquisition
- Antlia V-Pro Red 36 mm: 40 × 30s (20m)
- Antlia V-Pro Green 36 mm: 40 × 30s (20m)
- Antlia V-Pro Blue 36 mm: 21 × 30s (10m 30s)
- Total integration: 50m 30s
Equipment
- Telescope / Lens: Celestron C8
- Camera: ZWO ASI2600MM Pro
- Mount: Celestron CGEM II
- Filters: Antlia V-Pro Blue 36 mm, Antlia V-Pro Green 36 mm, Antlia V-Pro Red 36 mm
- Guiding scope: SVBony SV106 60mm Guide Scope
- Guiding camera: ZWO ASI174MM Mini
- Accessories: Celestron 0.63X SCT Reducer (94175), ZWO EFW 7 x 36mm
- Software: Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight
Astrophotography by David Joyce, AstroDavido.