Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Tucana (Tuc)  ·  Contains:  47 Tuc Cluster  ·  NGC 104  ·  NGC 121
Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae (NGC 104), flyingairedale
Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae (NGC 104)
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Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae (NGC 104)

Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae (NGC 104), flyingairedale
Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae (NGC 104)
Powered byPixInsight

Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae (NGC 104)

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Description

Probably one of the best known objects in the southern sky, 47 Tucanae, also designated NGC 104, is located in the constellation Tucana. It is the second brightest globular cluster in either hemisphere. The cluster can be seen with the naked eye and appears roughly the size of the full moon in the sky under ideal conditions At about 13,000 light years away from Earth, and 120 light years in diameter, the cluster has an apparent magnitude of 4.1. Due to its far southern location, 18° from the south celestial pole, it was not catalogued by European astronomers until the 1750s, when the cluster was first identified by Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille from South Africa. (From Wikipedia)

47 Tucanae is noted for having a small very bright and dense core, which can be seen in this image. It is listed as a Shapley-Sawyer Class III globular, which are clusters with a, "Strong inner core of stars". From an astrophotography standpoint, resolving the central stars is challenging due to the high dynamic range between the inner and outer portions of the cluster. Two different exposures were used for the luminance channel in this image.

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Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae (NGC 104), flyingairedale

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