NGC 6455

History and Accurate Positions for the NGC/IC Objects (Corwin 2004)

NGC 6455 may be the random clumping of Milky Way stars around SAO 209348 (this is about 50 seconds preceding JH's approximate position). JH, however, does not mention the bright star. His full description reads, "A very extensive nebulous clustering mass of the milky way [sic]. The stars [are] of excessive smallness, and infinite in number."

ESO chooses a "concentration of stars" (not obvious to me) near JH's position, and Wolfgang Steinicke takes a small asterism of faint stars at 17 49.0 -35 27. I doubt that either of these could be JH's object. This is another case where a visual observation would be useful.

Historical observations

John Herschel (1847) Cape Observations

Discovered by Sir John Herschel at the Cape of Good Hope with an 18-inch f/13 speculum telescope. He recorded it as "a very extensive nebulous clustering mass of the milky way. the stars of excessive smallness, and infinite in number."

Published comments

Sulentic & Tifft (1973)

The RNGC (Sulentic and Tifft 1973) notes that this is a nonexistent object. Their coded description reads NOCL S.

Contemporary observations

Magda Streicher

1997 August 08

Instrument: Meade XL 200.

Eyepiece: Super 40mm.

Field of view: 52.7 minutes.

Date: 8/8/1997

NGC 6455 in Scorpio 17 52 (-35 23).

Very busy starfield with bright and faint stars. Six stars form an astrim, four more or less in a line with two off balance. To the end it's rounded off with small faint stars with some haziness. Difficult one.