About IC 1276
IC 1276 is a common cluster. It sits in the constellation Se2.
A globular cluster: hundreds of thousands of stars packed into a ball a few dozen light-years across, orbiting far out in the galaxy's halo.
Common cluster 21 EP
IC 1276
RA 272.6845° · Dec -7.2076° · openngc
Score breakdown
· 2 badgesCommon 22 pts → Uncommon
- Globular cluster +14
- Star cluster +7
Total score 21
1 more point to reach Uncommon.
Badges
- Star cluster · +7
- Globular cluster · +14
Trivia
What it actually is
- What it actually is. A globular cluster: hundreds of thousands of stars packed into a ball a few dozen light-years across, orbiting far out in the galaxy's halo.
Sense of scale
- Sense of scale. Stand on a planet near its core and the night sky would blaze with thousands of stars brighter than Venus. There would be no true darkness.
Find it in the sky
- Where to look. You'll find it in the constellation Serpens Cauda.
- Seen from everywhere. It sits almost on the celestial equator, so it can be seen from essentially anywhere on Earth.
- Best time of year. It stands highest in the middle of the night around June — that's when to go looking.
Its true colour
- Its true colour. Globulars glow yellow-orange because they are ancient — around 12 billion years old, with every hot blue star long since burned out.
How we came to know it
- The Index Catalogue. The IC was the 1895 and 1908 supplement to the NGC — the first catalogue in history to be filled largely with objects found on photographic plates rather than by eye.
Properties
- constellation
- Se2
- dso type
- GCl
- name
- IC 1276
- radial velocity kms
- 155
- redshift
- 0.0005
- size arcmin
- 9.6
How to see it
Look for IC 1276 in the constellation Se2.
Like any astronomical target, IC 1276 is best seen from a dark site away from city lights, and when it is above the horizon depends on your latitude and the time of year. The visibility panel above works out tonight's viewing window for your saved location.
Why IC 1276 is a common cluster
IC 1276 scores 21 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 1 point would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 2 science badges — Star cluster and Globular cluster — each earned for a real, measurable property of the object. Rarity on Spacedle is never random: the more remarkable an object's astrophysics, the more badges it collects, the higher it scores, and the rarer it ranks.