Pencil sketch using a 10-inch Newtonian reflector @ 195x

Image by Dr. James Dire of Hawaii using a 190 mm Orion Maksutov-Newtonian telescope.

To read the full report, click on the following link:

SEPTEMBER 2014 OBSERVERS CHALLENGE – M-030-1

Bright and well concentrated globular cluster. Using a 10-inch reflector, at 195x some partial resolution of stars. The cluster is elongated E-W, with two distinct star chains radiating out toward the N and NW. A fainter chain extends NNE. The most northerly chain is comprised of four stars. When using a 102 mm refractor, the star chains could not be seen, but the edges appear very irregular, with a brighter middle, and with an E-W elongation.

M30 has always been one of my favorite globular clusters, due in part to the unique star chains extending out from the very bright central region.    Roger Ivester

This entry was posted on October 28, 2014 at 2:23 pm and is filed under Work File Only - Observer's Challenge Reports. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. Both comments and pings are currently closed.