NGC 6723

NGC 6723
A globular cluster. It is made up of many thousands of bright stars, tightly-packed in the centre and more spread out at the corners, but filling the entire view. The stars are coloured either orange or bright blue, with the blue stars mainly concentrated in the centre. Orange stars are located mainly around the edge, and also vary in size from small dots to glowing stars with four points, based on their position in the foreground or background of the cluster.
NGC 6723 imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ClassVII
ConstellationSagittarius
Right ascension18h 59m 33.15s
Declination–36° 37′ 56.1″
Distance28.4 kly (8.7 kpc)
Apparent magnitude (V)6.8
Apparent dimensions (V)11′
Physical characteristics
Mass3.57×105 M☉
Metallicity[Fe/H] = –0.96 dex
Estimated age13.06 Gyr
Other designationsChandelier Cluster, ESO 396-SC 010, CD−36 13199, HD 175980, GCRV 11421, 2MASS J18593296-3637528
See also: Globular cluster, List of globular clusters

NGC 6723 (also known as the Chandelier Cluster) is a globular cluster in the constellation Sagittarius. It was discovered by British astronomer James Dunlop on 2 June 1826. Its magnitude is given as between 6 and 6.8, and its diameter is between 7 and 11 arcminutes. It is a class VII cluster with stars of magnitude 14 and dimmer. It is near the border of Sagittarius and Corona Australis.

Unlike common globular clusters, NGC 6723 has an enhanced metallicity and a large fraction of younger stars, with primordial stars accounting for only 0.363±0.017 % of the total.

Map showing location of NGC 6723

See also

References

  1. ↑ Shapley, Harlow; Sawyer, Helen B. (August 1927), "A Classification of Globular Clusters", Harvard College Observatory Bulletin, 849 (849): 11–14, Bibcode:1927BHarO.849...11S.
  2. 1 2 Goldsbury, Ryan; et al. (December 2010), "The ACS Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters. X. New Determinations of Centers for 65 Clusters", The Astronomical Journal, 140 (6): 1830–1837, arXiv:1008.2755, Bibcode:2010AJ....140.1830G, doi:10.1088/0004-6256/140/6/1830, S2CID 119183070.
  3. 1 2 Boyles, J.; et al. (November 2011), "Young Radio Pulsars in Galactic Globular Clusters", The Astrophysical Journal, 742 (1): 51, arXiv:1108.4402, Bibcode:2011ApJ...742...51B, doi:10.1088/0004-637X/742/1/51, S2CID 118649860.
  4. 1 2 "Data for NGC 6723". NGC/IC Project. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  5. 1 2 Forbes, Duncan A.; Bridges, Terry (May 2010), "Accreted versus in situ Milky Way globular clusters", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 404 (3): 1203–1214, arXiv:1001.4289, Bibcode:2010MNRAS.404.1203F, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.16373.x, S2CID 51825384.
  6. ↑ "NGC 6723". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
  7. ↑ "Results for object NGC 6723". NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. NASA and Caltech. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
  8. ↑ Stoyan, Ronald; Schurig, Stephan (2014). interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas. Erlangen: Cambridge University Press; Oculum-Verlag GmbH. ISBN 978-1-107-50338-0. OCLC 920437579.
  9. ↑ Seligman, Courtney. "New General Catalogue Objects: NGC 6723". Celestial Atlas. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
  10. ↑ Lee, Jae-Woo (2019), "Multiple Stellar Populations of Globular Clusters from Homogeneous Ca–CN–CH Photometry. V. cn′JWL as a Surrogate cnJWL Index and NGC 6723", The Astrophysical Journal, 883 (2): 166, arXiv:1908.06670, doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ab3d34, S2CID 201070324