![]() | This article includes a
list of references,
related reading, or
external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks
inline citations. (May 2022) |
NGC 6401 | |
---|---|
![]() The NASA/ESA
Hubble Space Telescope has used its powerful optics to separate the globular cluster NGC 6401 into its constituent stars. What was once only visible as a ghostly mist in the eyepieces of astronomical instruments has been transformed into a stellar landscape. | |
Observation data ( J2000 epoch) | |
Constellation | Ophiuchus |
Right ascension | 17h 38m 36.93s |
Declination | −23° 54′ 31.5″ |
Distance | 24.450 |
Apparent magnitude (V) | 7.40 |
Apparent dimensions (V) | 4.8' |
Physical characteristics | |
Other designations | ESO 520-SC011, GCL 73, H I-44, h 1982, h 3697, GC 4314 |
NGC 6401 is a globular cluster in the constellation Ophiuchus. William Herschel discovered this star cluster in 1784 with his 47 cm telescope, but mistakenly believed it to be a bright nebula. Later his son, John Herschel, was to make the same error because the technology of the day was insufficient to allow the individual stars to be resolved visually.
![]() | This article includes a
list of references,
related reading, or
external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks
inline citations. (May 2022) |
NGC 6401 | |
---|---|
![]() The NASA/ESA
Hubble Space Telescope has used its powerful optics to separate the globular cluster NGC 6401 into its constituent stars. What was once only visible as a ghostly mist in the eyepieces of astronomical instruments has been transformed into a stellar landscape. | |
Observation data ( J2000 epoch) | |
Constellation | Ophiuchus |
Right ascension | 17h 38m 36.93s |
Declination | −23° 54′ 31.5″ |
Distance | 24.450 |
Apparent magnitude (V) | 7.40 |
Apparent dimensions (V) | 4.8' |
Physical characteristics | |
Other designations | ESO 520-SC011, GCL 73, H I-44, h 1982, h 3697, GC 4314 |
NGC 6401 is a globular cluster in the constellation Ophiuchus. William Herschel discovered this star cluster in 1784 with his 47 cm telescope, but mistakenly believed it to be a bright nebula. Later his son, John Herschel, was to make the same error because the technology of the day was insufficient to allow the individual stars to be resolved visually.