M22

Click on image for larger version.

M22 is a truly spectacular example of star clusters since it is very near and, as we view it, towards the center of the galaxy. Thus, when M22 is observed we see hundreds of thousands of its constituents as well as a myriad of stars in the foreground/background. The ultimate stars upon stars. M22 is estimated to be 10,000 light years away and around 65 light years across . This cluster can be seen easily in binoculars above the star atop the "teapot" asterism of Sagittarius.

Equipment

Meade 16in LX200 telescope operating at f/6.3
SBIG ST8E CCD camera with color filter wheel

L R G B color production was used to create this image.

Luminance = 10 minutes binned 1x1
 Red = 5 minutes binned 3x3
 Green = 5 minutes binned 3x3
 Blue = 10 minutes binned 3x3
  • This image suffers from optical aberrations (collimation)- future images will improve this.
  • One iteration of L-R deconvolution (sharpening) algorithm using CCDsharp was applied to the luminance image.

  • Digital Developement (DDP) via Maxim/DL was also used in order to display the the very dim and very bright details of the image simultaneously.

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    Minimum credit line: Ron Tamler/Adam Block/NOAO/AURA/NSF

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    Updated: 8/14/2000