| Object name: | Constellation: | Coordinates: | Apparent size: | Visual brightness: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Messier 14 (NGC 6402) | Ophiuchus | 17h38m / -03°15' | 11' | 8.3 mag |
The globular cluster Messier 14 (NGC 6402) in the constellation Ophiuchus. Messier 14 contains several hundred thousand stars and is 28,000-56,000 light-years from Earth. It is fairly highly reddened by interstellar extinction (dust in the Milky Way). The globular cluster was discovered by French astronomer Charles Messier in 1764 (source: Wikipedia).
Seventy-five 1-minute exposures (75 minutes total exposure) at gain 100 and -10°C taken on July 10 / 11, 2023, were added for this shot with the Astro Pixel Processor (APP) software and the final image processing was done in Photoshop. Darks, flats, bias and dark flats were used. Cirrostratus clouds during the exposures.
Equipment: Cooled ASI 2600MC Pro camera, TeleVue Paracorr Type II coma corrector, 16" f/4.5 "Ninja" dobsonian telescope riding on a dual-axis Tom Osypowski equatorial platform, Lacerta MGEN autoguider, Lacerta off axis system (field of view comparison: image of the moon with the same equipment).
