The Hercules Cluster, also known as Messier 13 is the finest globular cluster in the Northern Hemisphere. The cluster is 25,000 light years from Earth and contains over 100,000 stars.
I've tried imaging globular clusters in the past with small refractors but was never satisfied with the results due to their limited reach. Apertura recently released their new
CarbonStar 6" Ritchey-Chretien and it has plenty of focal length to go after smaller targets like M13. Jumping to a focal length of approximately 1400mm is somewhat challenging but I'm excited to venture into longer focal length astrophotography!
This was also first light for my new 2600mc camera which was a joy to use. 300 X 60 second subs were taken over 3 consecutive nights during a full moon for a total of 5 hours integration time. I imaged M13 using the Ritchey Chretien's native focal length which resulted in a miniscule pixel scale of 0.55". I have a lot to learn about imaging with a Ritchey Chretien but overall I'm pleased with this effort. I think this Ritchey-Chretien will be excellent for imaging galaxies, globular clusters, planetary nebula and other smaller targets.
Thanks for looking!
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