- M 15 (NGC 7078)
M 15 is a bright globular cluster located along the western edge of the constellation Pegasus. It was originally discovered by Jean-Dominique Miraldi on the 7th of September 1746. Charles Messier observed it in June of 1764. While Miraldi had already described this object as being composed of many stars, Messier in his later observation described it as a "nebula without star" which suggests that Miraldi's telescope was superior to Messier's.
M 15 contains the equivalent of 450,000 Solar masses and is located at a distance of 39,010 LY. It has a physical diameter of around 200 LY. It's orbit around the Milky Way galaxy is inclined aroud 40 degrees to the galactic plane, and it takes the cluster around 250 million years to make one trip around the galaxy. M 15 contains the planetary nebula Pease 1, but it is small and doesn't show up in my image. With a visual magnitude of 6.0, M 15 can be spotted with the naked eye under good conditions.
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