M72
NGC 6981 · Globular cluster in Aquarius
- Magnitude
- 9.3
- Size
- 6′
- Effective surface brightness
- 21.6 mag/arcsec²
- Best months
- Jul, Aug, Sep
- Declination
- -13°
- Filter
- None (broadband target)
A faint, distant globular in Aquarius. Among the harder Messier globulars.
Reachable from mid-northern latitudes (UK, northern US, central Europe) and from the south.
How long with each smart telescope
| Telescope | In frame | Bortle 3 (rural) | Bortle 5 (suburban) | Bortle 7 (urban edge) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZWO Seestar S5010 s subs | 14% | 30 min182 subs | 47 min281 subs | 1 h 58 min711 subs |
| ZWO Seestar S50 Pro10 s subs | 7% | 34 min202 subs | 51 min309 subs | 2 h 09 min774 subs |
| ZWO Seestar S3010 s subs | 8% | 34 min203 subs | 50 min301 subs | 2 h 02 min732 subs |
| ZWO Seestar S30 Pro10 s subs | 4% | 36 min216 subs | 55 min328 subs | 2 h 16 min818 subs |
| DwarfLab DWARF 315 s subs | 6% | 41 min163 subs | 1 h 06 min264 subs | 2 h 57 min708 subs |
| DwarfLab DWARF mini15 s subs | 8% | 30 min120 subs | 46 min186 subs | 1 h 58 min473 subs |
| DwarfLab Draco30 s subs | 8% | 24 min49 subs | 38 min77 subs | 1 h 38 min196 subs |
| DwarfLab DWARF II15 s subs | 6% | 2 h 07 min510 subs | 2 h 53 min692 subs | 6 h 12 min1,490 subs |
| Vaonis Vespera II10 s subs | 7% | 30 min182 subs | 47 min281 subs | 1 h 58 min711 subs |
| Vaonis Vespera Pro10 s subs | 6% | 1 h 13 min438 subs | 1 h 47 min645 subs | 4 h 18 min1,550 subs |
| Vaonis Vespera 310 s subs | 7% | 29 min173 subs | 45 min268 subs | 1 h 53 min681 subs |
| Vaonis Vespera Pro 210 s subs | 6% | 1 h 09 min414 subs | 1 h 42 min613 subs | 4 h 07 min1,482 subs |
| Unistellar eQuinox 24 s subs | 18% | 38 min569 subs | 48 min723 subs | 1 h 33 min1,394 subs |
| Unistellar Odyssey4 s subs | 18% | 3 h 18 min2,972 subs | 3 h 55 min3,531 subs | 6 h 38 min5,973 subs |
| Celestron Origin10 s subs | 12% | 7 min44 subs | 12 min72 subs | 32 min195 subs |
| Celestron Origin Mark II10 s subs | 13% | 9 min56 subs | 16 min97 subs | 45 min273 subs |
Imaging the globular cluster
Globular clusters are point sources packed tight, so they come quickly: the core resolves into stars within a handful of minutes on any smart scope. More time deepens the halo and pulls in the faint outer members. Use short subs so the core does not saturate into a white blob, and no filter.
Per-telescope pages
- How long to image the M72 with the ZWO Seestar S50
- How long to image the M72 with the ZWO Seestar S50 Pro
- How long to image the M72 with the ZWO Seestar S30
- How long to image the M72 with the ZWO Seestar S30 Pro
- How long to image the M72 with the DwarfLab DWARF 3
- How long to image the M72 with the DwarfLab DWARF mini
- How long to image the M72 with the DwarfLab Draco
- How long to image the M72 with the DwarfLab DWARF II
- How long to image the M72 with the Vaonis Vespera II
- How long to image the M72 with the Vaonis Vespera Pro
- How long to image the M72 with the Vaonis Vespera 3
- How long to image the M72 with the Vaonis Vespera Pro 2
- How long to image the M72 with the Unistellar eQuinox 2
- How long to image the M72 with the Unistellar Odyssey
- How long to image the M72 with the Celestron Origin
- How long to image the M72 with the Celestron Origin Mark II