About NGC 6476
NGC 6476 is an uncommon cluster. It sits in the constellation Sgr.
A stellar association: a sprawling family of hot young stars that shared a birthplace but were never gravitationally bound to each other.
Uncommon cluster 24 EP
NGC 6476
RA 268.5084° · Dec -29.1442° · openngc
Score breakdown
· 4 badgesUncommon 34 pts → Rare
- Toward the galactic centre +8
- Star cluster +7
- Loose stellar association +6
- On the zodiac +3
Total score 24
10 more points to reach Rare.
Badges
- Star cluster · +7
- Loose stellar association · +6
- Toward the galactic centre · +8
- On the zodiac · +3
Trivia
What it actually is
- What it actually is. A stellar association: a sprawling family of hot young stars that shared a birthplace but were never gravitationally bound to each other.
Sense of scale
- Sense of scale. It is already coming apart. Associations dissolve into the general population of the galaxy within tens of millions of years.
Find it in the sky
- Where to look. You'll find it in the constellation Sagittarius.
- Southern sky. It rides the southern half of the sky — an easier target the further south you are.
- Best time of year. It stands highest in the middle of the night around June — that's when to go looking.
How we came to know it
- The New General Catalogue. Its NGC number comes from J. L. E. Dreyer's 1888 catalogue, itself built on decades of sky sweeps by William Herschel and his sister Caroline.
Properties
- constellation
- Sgr
- dso type
- *Ass
- name
- NGC 6476
Nearby objects
- Uncommon KMT-2016-BLG-0212L b exoplanet · <0.1° away
- Uncommon KMT-2024-BLG-2087L b exoplanet · 0.1° away
- Uncommon HD 162908 star · 0.2° away
- Uncommon OGLE-2018-BLG-0932L b exoplanet · 0.2° away
- Uncommon KMT-2023-BLG-1592L b exoplanet · 0.2° away
- Uncommon OGLE-2015-BLG-0966L b exoplanet · 0.2° away
- Uncommon KMT-2024-BLG-2005L b exoplanet · 0.3° away
- Uncommon OGLE-2013-BLG-1761L b exoplanet · 0.3° away
How to see it
Look for NGC 6476 in the constellation Sgr.
Like any astronomical target, NGC 6476 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 NGC 6476 is an uncommon cluster
NGC 6476 scores 24 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 10 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 4 science badges — Star cluster, Loose stellar association, Toward the galactic centre and On the zodiac — 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.