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M 68  (NGC 4950)

M 68 (NGC 4950) is a compact globular cluster located in the constellation Hydra. It was discovered by Charles Messier in April of 1780. M 68 is both an old and distant member of the Milky Way's outer galactic halo. It lies at a distance of around 36,000 LY, and takes around 500 million yeasrs to orbit the Milky Way. M 68 is exceptionally old, with an estimated age of over 10,000 million years. It has a physical diameter of around 120 LY and an apparent diameter of 11 arc-min. It has a visual magnitude of 7.6 but, due to its low elevation in the southern sky for viewers in the U.S., it can be a challenging object to observe.

Date(s) Acquired: 3 March 2015
Telescope: Orion 120mm EON Apochromatic Refractor
Camera: QSI Model 583 with Optec NextGEN Ultra Widefield 0.7X Telecompressor

 

   Exposure Time (min) 
   Number of Exposures
   RGB
   1.5
   Hα
   -
   Hβ
   -
   OIII
   -
   RGB
   10
   Hα
   0
   Hβ
   0
   OIII
   0

 

Processing:
Master red, green, and blue images created using SuperSIAM.
Color composite image created using Basic Processing Procedure III.
Color composite image contrast-stretched using Adobe Photoshop.




 

 

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