Sunday, May 23, 2021

NGC 6229 - Globular Cluster in Hercules

NGC 6229 is a very distant globular star cluster in the constellation Hercules. At about 100,000 light years away it is one of the furthest clusters from earth (that is, cluster in our galaxy) sitting at the very edge of our Milky Way. The Stellarium planetarium software identifies it as the "Prize Comet Globular Cluster" - possibly because of its distance, and hence small size, it would look like a faint comet head in smaller amateur telescopes.

NGC 6229 - May 21, 2021
EdgeHD-11 f/10 ZWO ASI2600mm
30x30sec RGB; 60x60sec Lum


This image was taken with a 9.8 day old moon blaring in the west and cirrus clouds covering most of the sky. Not ideal conditions, but whenever you get a mostly clear night here in Maryland you try to take advantage of the opportunity as best as you can. Globulars are ideal for image objects in these conditions as they tend to hold up well to the sky brightness and LP. 

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