NGC 6738 is an astronomical feature that is catalogued as an
NGC object
The ''New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars'' (abbreviated NGC) is an astronomical catalogue of deep-sky objects compiled by John Louis Emil Dreyer in 1888. The NGC contains 7,840 objects, including galaxies, star clusters and em ...
. Although listed as an
open cluster in some astronomical databases, it may be merely an
asterism; a 2003 paper in the journal ''
Astronomy and Astrophysics
''Astronomy & Astrophysics'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering theoretical, observational, and instrumental astronomy and astrophysics. The journal is run by a Board of Directors representing 27 sponsoring countries plus a re ...
'' describes it as being an "apparent concentration of a few bright stars on patchy background absorption".
References
External links
SimbadImage NGC 6738NGC 6738
{{Ngc70
6738
Aquila (constellation)
Open clusters
Asterisms (astronomy)