NGC 6388 (GC)
Globular Cluster in Scorpius
| R.A. | Dec. | Size | Mag | SB | Cnt.St | Type | Distance | Chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17h 36m 18.7s | -44° 44′ 03.2″ | 1.6′ | 6.8 | 7.5 | III | GC | -- | -- |
Source: POSS-2 UK Schmidt Red (STScI) | Field: 10′ × 10′
Background
NGC 6388 is a dense, luminous globular cluster 32,000 light-years away in Scorpius — one of the brightest globulars in the Galactic bulge region. Notable for evidence of an intermediate-mass black hole ( 2×10^4 M_\odot) at its core.
My Observing Notes
25-cm (Meade 10-inch LX200, The Coffee Grinder): With θ Scorpii in the viewfinder, just picks up the faint 6.8-magnitude smudge 0.5° south. A brighter core with a halo of unresolved stars; nicely framed by 3 stars forming a triangle. Worth remembering: an intermediate-mass black hole likely lurks within this globular.(Friday, May 2025)
References
Charts
Ultra-wide view (~25° field)
Wide-field view with Telrad rings (4°, 2°, 0.5°)
Finderscope view (9×50 RACI, ~4.4° TFOV)
Eyepiece view — 35 mm Panoptic on 12-inch f/5 (1.6° TFOV)