Dates:April 13, 2014
Frames: 120x60"
Integration: 2.0 hours
Avg. Moon age: 12.97 days
Avg. Moon phase: 96.40%
Astrometry.net job: 224350
RA center: 13h 26' 42"
DEC center: -47° 25' 37"
Orientation: -89.772 degrees
Field radius: 0.566 degrees
Resolution: 620x436
Locations: Home Observatory, Werribee, Victoria, Australia
To the unaided eye this glorious globular cluster has the appearance of a hazy star and was frequently confused with Halley's comet when it drifted through Centaurus in 1986. One of the richest in the Milky Way, Omega Cen contains several million stars, but unlike its southern rival, 47 Tucanae, it has a relatively open structure. Like most galactic globular clusters, the stellar population of Omega Cen identifies it as one of the oldest objects associated with the Milky Way, indeed the age of many of its stars age is comparable to that of the Universe itself. The cluster also contains a large number of RR Lyrae variable stars which enable its distance to be determined as 17,000 light years. Text from Australian Astronomical Observatory.
Whilst waiting for another target to clear the light gloom of Melbourne, Omega Centauri presents as an easy target, this time I put a little more effort into conturing it's beauty. About an hour and twenty minutes for this shot.
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