M12, NGC 6218

M12 is a globular cluster in the constellation Ophiuchus, very similar to its near neighbor M10, although much less centrally concentrated. M12 is around 70 light-years across and some 15000 light-years away. This approximately true-color picture was created from images taken in June 1995 using BVR colors, at the Burrell Schmidt telescope of Case Western Reserve University's Warner and Swasey Observatory located on Kitt Peak, near Tucson, Arizona, during the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program operated at the Kitt Peak National Observatory and supported by the National Science Foundation. Image size 20.3 arc minutes.