NGC 6397

Globular cluster NGC 6397

(= Lacaille III.11

= Dunlop 366

= Bennett 98

= Caldwell 86),

class IX,

in Ara

Right Ascension	17 : 40.7 (h:m)
Declination	-53 : 40 (deg:m)
Distance	7.2 (kly)
Visual Brightness	5.9 (mag)
Apparent Dimension	26.0 (arc min)

This conspicuous globular is one of the two nearest to us (the other one is

M4); currently it seems that M4 is a bit closer:

M4 is at about 6,800 and NGC 6397 at 7,200 light years, but the uncertainty is

large enough that the sequence may change..

NGC 6397 is one of the at least 20 globulars of our

Milky Way Galaxy which have undergone a

core collapse, i.e. its core has contracted to a very dense stellar

agglomeration; this is the nearest such globular.

In John Caldwell’s observing list.

In the

Astronomical League’s Southern Sky Binocular Club list.

The HST has investigated globular cluster NGC 6397 for faint red dwarf stars,

in order to check the abundance of these “Dark Matter” candidates. Look at the

first and

second HST press release

on this thread.

---

Hartmut Frommert

([email protected])

Christine Kronberg

([email protected])

Last Modification: 29 Mar 1998, 12:35 MET