M92

 M92 is considered to be one of the oldest globular clusters in the Milky Way with it's 300,000 stars forming over between 12 & 13 billion years ago. The entire cluster is 100 light years wide and any planet orbiting one of those stars would live in perpetual daylight, never knowing the larger universe that exists beyond.

A bit of a disaster

I like to post the good and the bad so here goes. M92 was the goal here but the data is very poor. I think that I have accumulated frost on the CCD sensor that has corrupted the entire data set. 45 x 60 subs through each RGB filter was just impossible to calibrate. I assumed firstly that it was a setting in Pixinsight that I was unfamiliar with, quite possible considering it is so new to me but after a new set of flats, dark flats and calibrated in both DSS & Pixinsight the results were just the same. I will take the data to Breckland Observatory this week and let a few of our resident Pixinsight experts have a play too. Here is the data anyway. Full size image and crop.#notimpressed. However I was happy with the focus. Win win.

M92, NGC6341

I dont really believe what I saw last night but from dusk till dawn we had a clear night temp hovered around +2. At around midnight i could see the old summer favourites coming into view. Dew heaters on and I focused on M92 somewhat overlooked because of its proximity to its big sister M13, I dont really know why because it's a wonderful sight in my 90mm.

At a distance of 26,000 light years only 900 Light years futher on than M13

16 variables have been discovered in this globular, 14 of which are of RR Lyrae type, while one of them is one of the very few eclipsing binaries in globular clusters.

Late last year I purchased one of the generic field flatteners. I have to say it doesnt work. will just have to save a few pennies for the Williams mk111 version.

Anyway Here is a cropped and stacked set of 76 unguided 30 second JPEGS Images giving a total of 38 Minutes. No darks of flats used.

It was just great to get outside and let some of the stresses of work float away