Deep Sky Object in Summer
M4 (Globular Cluster in Scorpius)

Click on image to enlarge

Date & Time: Mar 19 2023, from 27:18 to 27:47 JST(+0900)
Composed 8 shots with 4 minutes exposed
Optical: Meade 25cm(10") Schmidt-Cassegrain with conversion lens (f=1600mm, F6.3)
with IDAS LPS-P1 Light-pollution suppression filter
Auto-guided with Meade LX200 Equatorial & Lacerta M-GEN
Digital Camera: Nikon D810A
Location: Ooizumi, Hokuto city, Yamanashi pref.

Camera Settings: Recording Format...14bit CCD-RAW, converted to 16bit TIFF(4080×4080)
Device Size...20×20mm
Sensitivity...ISO4000, White Balance...Daylight


M4 (NGC6121) / Globular Cluster, type IX
R.A.16h 23m 36.0s (2000.0)
Dec.-26° 32' 00" (2000.0)
Apparent Size14.0'
Real Size95 light yrs.
Magnitude6.4
Distance7000 light yrs.
A globular cluster located just one degree west of Antares is M4 (NGC6121). It's very close from the Antares, so we can find easily the cluster with binoculars, but without a larger telescope it will not appear very spectacular.
M4 is characteristic as its reddish color although we cannot detect the peculiar colors in almost all of other globular clusters.
The cluster consists of about 10 thousand stars, and about seven thousand light years away.

Wide-field image around M4 & Antares (70KB)



Cr399
M5

Copyright(c) 2023 by Naoyuki Kurita, All rights reserved.
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