My galactic target had set below the trees, and two hours of darkness remained. This globular cluster of stars, called M5, had just passed the meridian and so was placed conveniently for my westward pointing scope. This image is simply luminance, or, in other words, "full spectrum" black and white. The lack of color is ok, I think. Rarely do I see color I really like in globular cluster images. The beauty of them lies primarily in the overwhelming number of stars. I was a bit disappointed that, with eight-minute exposures, the center of the cluster was completely blown out. Next time I will try to take some shorter sets, too. But I wanted the outer halo of stars that you see here.
This night was my first with the Astro-Tech Coma Corrector.
Telescope: Orion 10" f/4.7 Newtonian and ATCC (eff. at f/5.17)
Camera and Exposure: SXVF-H9, 10x8'
Filter: IDAS-LPS2
Guiding: SX Lodestar and SX OAG
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX
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