SUNSET: 
0
Photographer:
massimo.difusco
Location of Photo:
Rio Hurtado (Chile)
Date/Time of photo:
09/04/2025 04:00
Equipment:
Data acquired at Chilescope: ASA Newton 500 @1900mm, ASA DDM85 equatorial Mount, FLI PL16803 camera, Astrodon R/G/B filters
Description:
Messier 4 (also known as M4 or NGC 6121) is a bright globular cluster located in the southern constellation Scorpius. It lies at an approximate distance of 7200 light years from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 5.9. M4 was discovered by the Swiss astronomer and mathematician Jean-Philippe Loys de Chéseaux in 1746, who added it to his catalogue as number 19. Charles Messier catalogued the cluster on May 8, 1764. M4 was the first and only globular cluster to be resolved into individual stars by Messier himself. Other globulars in the Messier catalogue were not resolved until about 20 years later, when William Herschel observed them in his larger telescopes.
