Omega Centauri (NGC 5139)

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Photographer:

Jon Greif

Location of Photo:

Sliding Springs Observatory, NSW, Australia, remotely via itelescope.net from La Jolla, CA, USA.

Date/Time of photo:

January 27, 2017, at 0300 local time

Equipment:

Takahashi 90 mm wide field color refractor and imaging system.

Description:

This spectacular globular cluster of stars is Omega Centauri, NGC 5139, imaged remotely from the Sliding Springs Observatory in New South Wales, Australia, via iTelescope.net 3 nights ago. I was in my living room in La Jolla, and it was daytime, the major advantage of remote astronomy. Located at a distance of 15,800 light-years, it is the largest globular cluster in the Milky Way at a diameter of roughly 150 light-years. It is estimated to contain approximately 10 million stars and a total mass equivalent to 4 million solar masses. It is one of the few globular clusters visible to the naked eye, and appears almost as large as the full Moon when seen from a dark, rural area, but, of course, to see it, you must be in the Southern Hemisphere.

Website:

http://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-pictures/share-your-astronomy-pictures/