Class XII Right ascension 17 59 03.68 Distance 36.9 kly (11.3 kpc) | Constellation Scorpius Declination −44° 15′ 57.4″ Apparent dimensions (V) 5.6' | |
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NGC 6496 is a globular cluster which is in the direction of the bulge and putative members of this subgroup, based on observations collected with the WFPC2 on board the Hubble Space Telescope. NGC 6496 was originally believed to be a member of the disc system of GC, but scientists questioned this classification. It was instead suggested that NGC 6496, together with two other clusters, NGC 6624 and NGC 6637, could be halo clusters with strongly inclined orbits. NGC 6496 lies in the Southern sky at RA=17:59:03.68 and Dec=-44:15:57.4.
The first CMD presented of NGC 6496 had photometry reaching 2 mag below the horizontal branch, disclosing for the first time the usual red arm of the metal-rich clusters. The extinction towards NGC 6496 is uncertain, with estimates ranging between E(B-V) = 0.09 and E(B-V) = 0.24.