I have observed this object three times.
18 June 2015 at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison using a 12” Skywatcher Dobsonian: Evenly bright across the halo and core. Fairly well resolved. Class: X.
7 May 2016 at the General Nathan Twining Observatory (GNTO) using a 12” Skywatcher Dobsonian: This globular cluster was easy to find though I did not see it in the finderscope. It appears to be a Class IV with a well concentrated core and a large halo. Under better conditions this would be a very good sight.
30 December 2019 at GNTO using a 22” Obsession UC Dobsonian: I looked at M68 on my way to observe the Interstellar Comet (2I/Borisov). M68 looked great with nice detail.
I obtained the calibrated lights frames used to create the final image from Telescope Live. The frames were imaged by the CHI-1-CMOS Telescope at the El Sauce Observatory in Chile.
Note: About 106 LY in diameter. Has about 250 giant stars with absolute magnitude > 0. One 12.6 mag star. Orbiting our galaxy's galactic bulge with a great eccentricity of 0.5. This takes 100,000 light years from the center. It is one of the most metal-poor globular clusters. The cluster may be undergoing core-collapse, and it displays signs of being in rotation. The cluster may have been acquired by the Milky Way through accretion from a satellite galaxy.
Shapley Sawyer Classification: X
Distance: 33,599 LY
Type: Halo Globular
Position w.r.t. core of galaxy: Above and towards to core.
Any stars resolved: No
Undergoing Core Collapse: Yes
Created with SkySafari 6 Pro.
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