Globular cluster M72 was discovered by Pierre Méchain in the night of August 29-30, 1780. Consequently, Charles Messier looked for it on the following October 4 and 5, and included it in his catalog.

Messier 72 is one of the apparently smaller and fainter globular clusters in Messier's catalog. It is situated in the very western part of constellation Aquarius, close to the the group of four stars, M73.

M72 is one of the more remote of Messier's globular clusters: At about 53,000 light years, it lies a considerable distance beyond the Galactic Center. It is of 9th or 10th apparent magnitude, but as it is so distant it is one of the more intrinsically luminous globular cluster. However, M72 is not very concentrated, among Messier's globulars, only M71and M56 are even less concentrated.

M72 is a pale nebulous patch of light, very small and of grainy texture in a 4-inch, which shows only the 2' diameter core region. Larges scopes show it to a larger extent. This globular is of notable even brightness, fainting very gradually to the edges. It is hard to resolve in amateur telescopes; in the 8-inch, only the extreme edges show suspicions of resolved stars. A close pair of stars is situated to the south of this cluster.