SUNSET: 
0
Photographer:
KuriousGeorge
Location of Photo:
Julian, CA
Date/Time of photo:
June 23, 24, 27, July 2 2022
Equipment:
Planewave CDK24
Description:
My goal here was to go deep or go home. (-: Over several days I collected many 60s subs, but only kept the 429 best between 1.4" and 2". 24 5 minute RGB subs (2 hours per color) were then collected between 1.8" and 2.6". With this bright object and the number of subs, noise reduction is minimal to help preserve the faintest stars and several tiny galaxies. "M14 (NGC 6402) is a globular cluster of stars in the constellation Ophiuchus. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1764. At a distance of about 30,000 light-years, M14 contains several hundred thousand stars. At an apparent magnitude of +7.6 it can be easily observed with binoculars. The total luminosity of M14 is in the order of 400,000 times that of the Sun corresponding to an absolute magnitude of -9.12. The shape of the cluster is decidedly elongated. M14 is about 100 light-years across. A total of 70 variable stars are known in M14, many of the W Virginis variety common in globular clusters. In 1938, a nova appeared, although this was not discovered until photographic plates from that time were studied in 1964. It is estimated that the nova reached a maximum brightness of magnitude +9.2, over five times brighter than the brightest 'normal' star in the cluster."
