From:[email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of bw <bw_msg01@...>
Sent:?04 July 2024 21:02
To:[email protected] <[email protected]>
Subject:?[QSI-CCD] M14 image

This is an image of M14, one of the bright globular clusters in the Messier list and located about 30K light-years way in the direction of the constellation Ophiuchus. I chose it as a "hurry-up" target right before the start of the summer monsoons in New Mexico.? It’s a very average globular cluster in nearly all respects with one notable exception: it shows a dramatic amount of reddening because of its location near the plane of our galaxy – it has a galactic latitude of only 14 degrees.? This means our line-of-sight to the cluster passes through the substantial amount of dust that's in the galactic disk.? This accounts for the dominant yellow star colors in the image compared to the more typical blue/white appearance of most globular cluster images.? The color balance in the image was done using photometric calibration with foreground stars in order to preserve the reddening effect.?

The image was captured during a single night in June 2024 from SkyPi Remote Observatory using a 12.5" PlaneWave scope and a QSI-640ws camera at f/8 for a final LRGB integration of 4.5 hours.



Thanks for looking,
Bruce W.