Canon 350D Hap Griffin Baader Mod
5x180sec at iso 1600
30 Darks/Flats/Bias
APM/TMB 130/780 with APM Field Flattener

Wide view of M4 and globular NGC 6144.

At the distance of 7,200 light-years that has been determined for M4, it is perhaps the closest globular cluster to our Solar system. It is also a rather loosely concentrated cluster of class IX. M4 appears about the same size as the Moon on the sky which, given its distance, yields a spatial dimension of some 75 light years across. At least 43 variable stars have been observed in this cluster.

NGC 6144 was discovered by William Herschel on May 22, 1784 and catalogued as H VI.10. While it doesn't appear so, due to it's lower 9th magnitude brightness, NGC 6144 is a much tighter globular than M4.

June 29, 2008