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C75

NGC 6124

Proper NameNone
Caldwell NumberC75
NGC/IC NumberNGC 6124
ConstellationScorpius
Right Ascension16h 25m 20s
Declination-40° 39' 12"
Distancec.18,600 light years
c.5,700 parsecs
MagnitudeApparent: +5.8
Absolute: -2.8
DiameterApparent: 39'
Actual: 19 light years
Number of Starsc. 1,400
Optimum VisibilityJune
NotesThough this young open cluster is thought to contain more than a thousand stars, only about a hundred of these stand out against the background of the sky, primarily grouped towards the denser central regions of the cluster.

An open cluster of stars lying on the edge of the Milky Way as it passes through southern Scorpius, near the point where that constellation meets Lupus and Norma. The cluster consists of a loose grouping of more than a hundred stars, scattered over an area comparable to that of the Moon's disc in the skies of Earth.

C75 (also designated NGC 6124) lies in the plane of the Galactic disc, at a distance of some 18,600 light years from the Solar System. None of its individual stars is brighter than magnitude +9, but collectively the cluster reaches a visual magnitude of +5.8. In principle this makes it bright enough to be seen with the naked eye, though only under absolutely ideal conditions.

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