Globular Cluster Messier 4 M4
July 16, 2015 offered a fantastic early evening of astrophotography with a darker than normal view of the southern horizon from my location in Weatherly, PA. I used this opportunity to image some globular clusters in the low southern skies that I typically do not have good enough skies to image.
The first globular that was imaged is Messier 4 (M4 or NGC 6121) located very close to the star Antares in the constellation Scorpius.
This most recent observation was made using a Canon 6D attached at prime focus to my Celestron C6-A SCT. At the time of this writing, available for $399 from High Point Scientific. I used 30-second exposures at ISO 3200, 9-minutes total time. Also included twenty 30-second dark frames in the stacked images.
Burnham states this about M4, “Fine globular star cluster, one of the largest objects of its type, and also one of the nearest. It is probably the easiest of all the bright globulars to locate; merely point the telescope to Antares, and then move 1.3 degrees directly west, and there you are.” (Burnham’s Celestial Handbook, Robert Burnham Jr., Volume III)
Globular Cluster Messier 4 M4
July 16, 2015 offered a fantastic early evening of astrophotography with a darker than normal view of the southern horizon from my location in Weatherly, PA. I used this opportunity to image some globular clusters in the low southern skies that I typically do not have good enough skies to image.
The first globular that was imaged is Messier 4 (M4 or NGC 6121) located very close to the star Antares in the constellation Scorpius.
This most recent observation was made using a Canon 6D attached at prime focus to my Celestron C6-A SCT. At the time of this writing, available for $399 from High Point Scientific. I used 30-second exposures at ISO 3200, 9-minutes total time. Also included twenty 30-second dark frames in the stacked images.
Burnham states this about M4, “Fine globular star cluster, one of the largest objects of its type, and also one of the nearest. It is probably the easiest of all the bright globulars to locate; merely point the telescope to Antares, and then move 1.3 degrees directly west, and there you are.” (Burnham’s Celestial Handbook, Robert Burnham Jr., Volume III)