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NGC 6304 — Globular Cluster in Ophiuchus

Globular Cluster Good (54/100)
Magnitude 8.4m GlobularCluster Ophiuchus (Oph) Visible
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1Properties

Magnitude 8.4
Angular Size 3.6′
glob. cl. , B, cL, R, lbM, rrr, st 16

Position & Identifiers

RA 17h 14m 32.5s
Dec -29° 27' 44.3"
Constellation Ophiuchus (Oph)
Catalog NGC 6304

2How easy to spot?

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Telescope Bortle 3 Bortle 4 Bortle 5
80mm refr. Easy Easy Medium+
150mm Newt. Easy Easy Easy
C8 203mm Easy Easy Easy
Easy Medium Hard Very hard Impossible

Bortle 3 = rural · 4 = outer suburbs · 5 = suburbs

Medium on Seestar S50

3Visibility

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Best season May – Jul (peak: Jun)

4 Eyepiece View

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125x TFOV: 0.4° Lim. mag: 13.6
N E

NGC 6304 · 3.6′ diameter · N up, E left

5 Best Magnification

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6 Classification Decoder

Nearby in the Sky

Other targets within a few degrees — pan your scope a little and keep exploring.

Visibility scores assume a 150 mm Newton at Bortle 4.

NGC 6316
Easy
Globular cluster — dense ball of ancient stars
Globular Cluster mag 9.0 1.4° Ophiuchus
Guniibuu
HIP 84405; 36 Ophiuchi
Easy
Easy double, sep 5.2″
Double Star mag 5.07 2.9° Ophiuchus
M62
Flickering Globular
Easy
Globular cluster — dense ball of ancient stars
Globular Cluster mag 6.5 3.0° Ophiuchus
NGC 6293
Easy
Globular cluster — dense ball of ancient stars
Globular Cluster mag 8.2 3.0° Ophiuchus
NGC 6355
Easy
Compact globular cluster
Globular Cluster mag 9.6 3.7° Ophiuchus
NGC 6374
Easy
Open cluster
Open Cluster mag 9.0 4.9° Scorpius
3 Sgr
Medium
Pulsating variable, period 7.0d
Variable Star mag 4.54 7.4° Sagittarius
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