47 Tucanae (NGC 104)

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Photographer:

Jon Greif

Location of Photo:

Siding Springs Observatory, NSW, AU, remotely from La Jolla, CA, USA via iTelescope.net

Date/Time of photo:

September 11, 2020, at 12:30 AM local time (NSW).

Equipment:

Planewave CDK 510 mm reflector and monochrome imaging camera with L,R,G,B filters (3 each x 240 sec = 64 minutes exposure time). Processing with Pixinsight 1.8.8 software.

Description:

Cloudy, smoky and hazy here, so looking to the Southern Hemisphere for a nice target. 47 Tucanae (NGC 104) is a spectacular globular cluster located in the southern constellation of Tucana. At magnitude 4.5, it appears to the naked eye as a slightly fuzzy star similar to the head of a tail-less comet. Always hidden from view for Northern Hemisphere observers, 47 Tuc is the second brightest globular cluster in the sky, only Omega Centauri (also in the Southern Hemisphere) is more brilliant. From most of the Southern Hemisphere it is circumpolar and never sets. It has an extremely dense core, thought to house an immense black hole, and is one of the most massive globular clusters surrounding the Milky Way. 47 Tuc is located 16,700 light-years from Earth and contains at least 500,000 stars. The cluster is estimated to be 13.1 billion years old. 47 Tuc was discovered by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille on September 14, 1751.

Website:

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/author/jgreif/