M 79 (NGC 1904) Globular Cluster in Lepus

Located at: RA 05 hours 24 minutes 11 seconds, Dec -24 degrees 31 minutes 27 seconds

Size: 9.6'; Magnitude: 7.7; Class: 5

North is up

West to the right

Telescope:

 8" f5 Newtonian reflector
Camera:

 ST-8XME, self-guided, binned 1x1, temp -25c, camera control MaxIm DL 4.56
Image:

Lumicon Deep Sky filter, 220 minutes (22 x 10 minute subs), 03/4/5/8/2008; seeing 2.7-6.8 FWHM per CCDStack
Processing:

CCDStack 1.3.2, Photoshop 7.0
Location:

 Rolling Roof Observatory, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360 (+34d 13m 29s -118h 52m 20s)
Notes: I almost waited too long to start imaging M 79 this season ... M 79 is lower than I realized, and I was loosing tracking as it passed behind the palm tree to my South, which has grown quite a bit since this image was taken (see Looking South).

From the NGC / IC Project:

Contemporary Visual Observation(s) for NGC 1904
NGC 1904 = M79 = E487-SC7
05 24 10.6 -24 31 27
V = 7.8;  Size 6

13.1" (2/19/04 - Costa Rica): excellent view at 200x.  Contains an intense, 1' 
core which is mottled and partially resolved, particularly around the edges.  
The halo is easily resolved with several dozen brighter members peppered in the 
halo and around the periphery (~40 stars counted) although there are no dense 
knots.  Surrounding the inner core (nucleus) is a dense ring of high surface 
brightness which is very mottled and in good moments of seeing breaks up into a 
swarm of stars.  Located 40' ENE of 5th magnitude h3752, which is a striking mag 
5.5/6.7 pair at 3".

17.5" (1/9/99): at 280x, this globular is well resolved into several dozen 
stars.  Contains a sharply concentrated intense core, ~2' in diameter which is 
clumpy, mottled and partially resolved at its periphery.  The inner part of the 
halo is peppered with faint stars.  The background haze drops off significantly 
towards the outer portion of the halo but a number of brighter stars are 
resolved including a nice arc of stars along the following edge of the halo.  A 
evenly matched close pair is on the NE side and a mag 12 star is at the N edge.  
Located 35' NE of naked-eye 5th magnitude h3752 (5.5/6.7 at 3").

17.5" (12/8/90): 40-50 stars resolved mostly in halo or at the edge of the very 
mottled core.  A string of six stars is just E of center and a long string 
passes through the core.  The brightest mag 12.5 is north of the core .

13": about 40 stars resolved in good seeing including a few over the core.

8": small bright core, few stars at edge and core, mottled.  The outer halo is 
well resolved in excellent conditions.

- by Steve Gottlieb