View Observations | Add Observations
Help | Discussion | Acknowledgements
M12 (Globular Cluster, in Ophiuchus)
Observer: Jim Tomney (e-mail: skytour@erols.com, web: http://users.aol.com/JTomney)
Instrument: 6-inch equatorial reflector Location: Marriotsville (Alpha Ridge), MD, USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: good Seeing: good
Time: Wed Jun 4 15:30:00 1997 UT Obs. no.: 157
I recall seeing M12 from my suburban (and more light polluted) backyard while doing the Messier list, but here at Alpha Ridge where the skies are noticeably darker I find that it is far more beautiful than I remember. It is a bit fainter than M10 but obvious when it slips into view at 28x. Even at this low magnification I can see that this is not your normal globular; it is loose in nature, uncertain whether it wants to fall into the Globular Cluster or dense Open Cluster camp. The field here is also a plus with many background stars. With the nice field and looseness of the globular it certainly brings M71 to mind, one of my all-time favorite globulars setamid rich Sagitta. The field stars boldly come right up to the object with maybe even one or two mingling as foreground points of light on the globular's periphery. The view at 75x is to beenjoyed as it accents the resolution better and still keeps a lively field. M12 seems to have a misty glow maybe about 5-7 arc-minutes wide, and there certainly does seem to be less of the mandatory symmetry characteristic of globulars. The 9.7mm gives a nice view but again tends to wash out this particular deep sky object.
M10 (Globular Cluster, in Ophiuchus)
Observer: Jim Tomney (e-mail: skytour@erols.com, web: http://users.aol.com/JTomney)
Instrument: 6-inch equatorial reflector Location: Marriotsville (Alpha Ridge), MD, USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: good Seeing: good
Time: Wed Jun 4 15:15:00 1997 UT Obs. no.: 156
Amid the semi-dark skies at Alpha Ridge I was surprised at how readily I could scoop up M10 and its neighbor M12 in the 7x50 binoculars. I'd guesstimate the magnitude to be somewhere around8-8.5 for these two. The star hop was a little tedious but not bad, and panning with the 42mm Ultima soon brought M10 into view. It was steady if not powerful, strong enough to take direct vision yet improved by averted vision. The field at 28x was pleasant but had nothing significant. At 75x the view was best, bringing forth a little speckling of resolution on the fringes when averted vision was used. The globular has a rather even distribution of light with gradual and subtle brightening towards the core. The visible size would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 arc-minutes.Bumping the magnification up to 124x did little to improve the view although it may have been possible with study to tease a bit more detail from the globular; in general 124x seemed to betoo much magnification for M10 as it became dimmer.
View Observations | Add Observations
Help | Discussion | Acknowledgements
Questions? Problems? E-mail jbc@west.net
 |
Object database created with dObjects |  |
Logo created with Pixelsight |