NGC 6400 — Open Cluster of Stars

NGC 6400 is an open, moderately packed cluster of stars, located toward the constellation of Scorpius (the Scorpion), with a visual magnitude of 8.8.

So far, around 50 stars have been resolved within this stellar grouping. The stars, though fairly uniform in brightness, are irregular in their distribution. The cluster is elongated along the North–South line, with a fine string of stars extending through the cluster to the South–Southeast and North–Northeast, with a slight bend near the centre. Where knots appear in the string, denser clumps of stars can be seen. The two brighter strings and two less distinct rows of stars create a vague "X" shape through the cluster with a closed loop on the north end.

The Scottish astronomer James Dunlop discovered this small, faint cluster in 1826. A few years later, the English astronomer Sir John Herschel recorded it in his catalogue as the “h 6369” entry.