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Observatory
4039, the ringtail or antennae galaxies in
Corvus. Image was taken by Ron Abbott
from the www.astrolandofoz.com .
This image is of two galaxies that have
collided sometime in the past.
with the 80mm Orion APO.
Image was overexposed to bring in
some moons. PSP used to combine
moons and Saturn.
taken with the LPI 9/06/06
(1 day before it was full).
Click to enlarge.
M4 is one of the nearest globular clusters in the sky;
according to newer results (here adopted from W.E. Harris'
database), its distance is perhaps only about 7,200 light years,
which may be the smallest for a globular; the only serious
competitor is NGC 6397 in the southern constellation Ara,
yet this one seems to be very slightly more remote now
(7,500 light years). M4 can be detected by the naked eye
under very dark skies (1.3 degrees west of Antares), and is
prominent with the slightest optical aid.
Globular cluster M92 is one of the original discoveries
of Johann Elert Bode, who found it on December 27,
1777. Charles Messier independently rediscovered it
and cataloged it on March 18, 1781, the same day as
he cataloged another 8 objects, all of them Virgo
Cluster galaxies (M84-M91). It was William Herschel
who first resolved it into stars in 1783.
According to newer sources, M92 is about 26,000
light years distant, only little more than its brighter
apparent neighbor M13. From its HRD (or CMD), it
may be a bit younger than M13 as its turnoff point is
shifted to the brighter and bluer end. A semi-recent
estimate of M92's age has given a value of about 16
billion years old.
Quadruple star system. The brightest
star in this image is actually a double
in itself.
