Globular Cluster Messier 92 (M92)

Messier 92 (M92) is a globular cluster located in the northern constellation Hercules and approximately 26,700 light years from Earth.  It is one of the brighter northern globulars – both visually and in terms of absolute magnitude – and can be seen without binoculars under good conditions.

Messier 92 has an estimated mass of up to 330,000 solar masses and an estimated age of 14.2 billion years – almost the same age as the universe itself.  It is one of the oldest clusters known and possibly the single oldest globular cluster in the Milky Way.  The cluster has an extremely low abundance of elements other than hydrogen and helium, with only 0.5 percent of the Sun’s metallicity.

Right ascension: 17h 17m 0.6 | Declination: +43° 07' 59" | Distance: 26,700 Light Years | Field of view: 37.4 x 24.9 arcmin

Camera: SBIG STL-6303E
Telescope: PlaneWave Instruments CDK 12.5 F/7.9
Guiding: External 80mm F/4 guidescope with SX Lodestar for guiding
Mount: Paramount PME
Filters: Astrodon Series E LRGB
Exposures: Luminance (15 x 5min), Red (9 x 5min), Green (9 x 5min), Blue (9 x 5min)
Total exposure: 3.5 hours
Image composition: LRGB
Scale: 0.73 arcsec/pixel
Image acquired: Over 6 nights during June & July 2018

Image capture with ACP, MaxIm DL, FocusMax; Image processed with MaxIm DL, Photoshop CC