Messier 72 (also known as M72 or NGC 6981) is a globular cluster in the south west of the very mildly southern constellation of Aquarius.

With a larger instrument, astronomer John Herschel called it a bright "cluster of stars of a round figure".

[9] It is visible in a good night sky as a faint nebula in a telescope with a 6 cm (2.4 in) aperture.

At 30 cm (12 in) the core is clear: its 1.25 ′ diameter, meaning a broad spread; and small parts scarcer in stars to the south and east.

The core region has a density of stars that is radiating 2.26 times solar luminosity (L☉) per cubic parsec.