Object: The Great Pegasus Cluster or Messier 15 or M15 (also designated NGC 7078) is a globular cluster in the constellation Pegasus. It was discovered by Jean-Dominique Maraldi in 1746 and included in Charles Messier’s catalog of comet-like objects in 1764. At an estimated 12.5 billion years old, it is one of the oldest known globular clusters.
M 15 is about 35,700 light-years from Earth, and 175 light-years in diameter. It has an absolute magnitude of −9.2, which translates to a total luminosity of 360,000 times that of the Sun. Messier 15 is one of the most densely packed globular clusters known in the Milky Way galaxy. Its core has undergone a contraction known as “core collapse” and it has a central density cusp with an enormous number of stars surrounding what may be a central black hole.
Home to over 100,000 stars, the cluster is notable for containing many variable stars (112) and pulsars (8), including one double neutron star system, M15-C. It also contains Pease 1, the first planetary nebula discovered within a globular cluster in 1928. Just three others have been found in globular clusters since then. (Courtesy Wikipedia)
Taken: July 22, 2022
Telescope: Astro-Tech 14” RC with Starizona Apex-ED L 0.65x focal reducer
Mount: Paramount ME II
Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC-Pro (cooled to 0C; Gain 100) Bin 1×1.
Guiding: No Guiding
Focuser: Moonlite Nitecrawler
Rotator: Moonlite Nitecrawler
Filters used: Optolong L-Pro
Exposures: 50×90 seconds for a total exposure time of 1.25 hours; calibrated with 40 dark frames, 40 flat frames with 40 dark-flats.
Seeing Conditions:
Image capture and telescope control: Nighttime Imaging ‘N’ Astronomy with (N.I.N.A.) / TheSkyX Pro with a SkyShed POD MAX observatory.
Processed with PixInsight, Photoshop CC 2022