About this Object:
Messier 15 or M15 (also designated NGC 7078) is a globular cluster in the constellation Pegasus. At an estimated 13.2 billion years old, it is one of the oldest known globular clusters. M15 is about 33,600 light-years from Earth. It has an absolute magnitude of -9.2 which translates to a total luminosity of 360,000 times that of the Sun. Messier 15 is one of the most densely packed globulars known in the Milky Way galaxy. Its core has undergone a contraction known as 'core collapse' and it has a central density cusp with an enormous number of stars surrounding what may be a central black hole.

Messier 15 contains 112 variable stars, a rather high number. It also contains at least 8 pulsars, including one double neutron star system, M15 C. Moreover, M15 houses Pease 1,[4] one of only four planetary nebulae known to reside within a globular cluster, which was discovered in 1928.

About this Photo:
Date(s): October 9, 2010
Location: From my driveway in Georgetown, Texas
Telescope: Celestron C925 @ F10
Mount: HEQ-5
Guiding: None
Camera: Canon 40D Modified
Filter: None
Exposure: 1 x 60s @ ISO1600 (1 Min total)
Acquisition: ImagesPlus 3.75 Camera Control
Processing: ImagesPlus 3.75 – Darks,Flats,Bias
Post-processing: Adobe Photoshop CS3; Gradient Exterminator; Noise Ninja; Noel Carboni's Tools; Star Spikes Pro
Temperature(s): 68º F