SkyNews – September 2019

P

ICTURE IN YOUR MIND a spher-
ical assemblage of a hundred thou-
sand ancient suns, more than 100
light-years across, many thousands of light-
years from Earth. That distant ball of celes-
tial fire is a globular star cluster. More
than 150 of them surround our Milky Way
Galaxy. Despite their remoteness, the best
globulars make superb targets for backyard
telescopes.
One of my favourite globulars is Messier
15, in western Pegasus. Glowing at magni-

THE GREAT PEGASUS CLUSTER

Put this impressive globular on your light-bucket list

SCOPING THE SKY by KEN HEWITT-WHITE

BALL OF FIRE Approximately 34,000 light-years
from Earth, M15 possesses one of the most
densely packed cores of any globular. Research -
ers estimate that some 30,000 stars are crammed
into the central 22 light-years of the 150-light-
year-wide cluster. Astrophotographer Stuart
Heggie captured this view of M15 from his back -
yard observatory in Lucknow, Ontario.

18 SKYNEWS •SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

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HD 204862
EQUULEUS
Enif
BIG CLUSTER RISINGOrangey Enif, a second-magnitude star southwest of the Great Square
of Pegasus, is the gateway to M15, the Great Pegasus Cluster. As summer transitions into autumn,
M15 climbs high in the south well before midnight. CHARTS BY GLENN LEDREW