NGC 4372 (GC)

Globular Cluster in Musca
R.A.Dec.SizeMag SBCnt.StTypeDistanceChart
12h 25m 49.1s-72° 39′ 44.0″5.0′9.913.1XIIGC----
NGC 4372 DSS plate
Source: POSS-2 UK Schmidt Red (STScI) | Field: 15′ × 15′

Background

NGC 4372 is a large, low-surface-brightness globular cluster  19,000 light-years away in Musca. About 12 billion years old, it lies very close to the Galactic plane and is heavily obscured by dust — its true brightness is much greater than its apparent  7.8 magnitude suggests.

My Observing Notes

25-cm (Meade 10-inch LX200, The Coffee Grinder): Larger but dimmer than the nearby NGC 4833. Located by pointing the telescope at γ Muscae and letting the viewfinder pick it up. (Thursday \& Friday, April 2025)

References

Charts

NGC 4372 ultra-wide chart
Ultra-wide view (~25° field)
NGC 4372 wide-field chart
Wide-field view with Telrad rings (4°, 2°, 0.5°)
NGC 4372 finderscope view
Finderscope view (9×50 RACI, ~4.4° TFOV)
NGC 4372 eyepiece view
Eyepiece view — 35 mm Panoptic on 12-inch f/5 (1.6° TFOV)