Menu

NGC 6530 — Open Cluster in Sagittarius

Open Cluster Excellent (71/100)
Magnitude 4.6m OpenCluster Sagittarius (Sgr) Visible
Star Map
+ List + Plan Star Hop

Observe

1Properties

Magnitude 4.6
Angular Size 6.0′
Cl, B, L, pRi, f M8

Position & Identifiers

RA 18h 04m 31.0s
Dec -24° 21' 29.2"
Constellation Sagittarius (Sgr)
Catalog NGC 6530

2How easy to spot?

Sign in and configure your equipment and default location to see a personalized row.
Telescope Bortle 3 Bortle 4 Bortle 5
80mm refr. Easy Easy Easy
150mm Newt. Easy Easy Easy
C8 203mm Easy Easy Easy
Easy Medium Hard Very hard Impossible

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

Easy on Seestar S50

3Visibility

Set a location in User Settings to see visibility data.

Best season May – Jul (peak: Jun)

4 Eyepiece View

Log in to set your own equipment
125x TFOV: 0.4° Lim. mag: 13.6
N E

NGC 6530 · 6.0′ diameter

5 Best Magnification

Explore

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.

9 Sgr
Easy
Hot blue O-type star
Star mag 5.97 0.1° Sagittarius
M8
NGC 6523
Easy
Emission nebula — try an OIII filter
Emission Nebula mag 5.8 0.2° Sagittarius
NGC 6544
Easy
Globular cluster — dense ball of ancient stars
Globular Cluster mag 8.3 0.9° Sagittarius
IC 4678
Medium
Diffuse nebula
Diffuse Nebula mag 10.40 0.9° Sagittarius
NGC 6546
Easy
Open cluster
Open Cluster mag 8.0 1.2° Sagittarius
Collinder 367
Easy
Open cluster
Open Cluster mag 6.4 1.3° Sagittarius
M21
Webb's Cross Cluster
Easy
Rich open cluster
Open Cluster mag 6.5 1.9° Sagittarius
NGC 6568
Easy
Open cluster
Open Cluster mag 9.0 3.3° Sagittarius
Show on Map

Explore Nightbase

Related knowledge, tools, and stories — no observation planning required.

Sagittarius
Mythology, bright stars, and deep-sky highlights.
Constellation
The Life of Stars
From birth in a nebula to spectacular death — how stars are born, shine, swell, and die, and how to read the clues in their starlight.
Article
Venus
Phases, transits, and the brightest planet in the sky.
Deep dive
}