Messier 10. NGC 6254

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Messier 10 is a bright globular cluster located 15,000 light years away, in the constellation Ophiuchus. It is close (2,000 light years away) from Messier 12 and it is more compact than its “neighbor”. M10 contains about 100,000 stars and it is moderately metal-poor. Its metallicity is about 3.5% that of our Sun (seven times larger than M92’s metallicity). This higher metallicity can be due to two different factors. One is the appearance of elements produced by Type II supernovae and the second is the capture of neutrons through the so called “s-process” (slow-neutron-capture process) in massive stars, the protons being provided from the star’s plasma. The core is rich in binary stars (14% of the stars in it) which accounts for the high number of blue stragglers, usually formed from binary stars.

 

Additional Information

Object

Name(s): Messier 10. M10. NGC 6254

Type: Globular Cluster

RA:  16h 57m 09s

Dec: -04º 05’ 58”

Constellation: Ophiuchus

Size (arcmin): 20×20 arcmin

Magnitude: +6.4

Distance: 15,000 ly

Image

Date: 2021-04-18 to 2021-04-19

Location: iTelescope.net, SSO near Coonabarabran, NSW Australia

Size (arcmin): 39×34 arcmin

Telescope: 17” f/6.8 Reflector

Camera: FLI PL16803 (4096x4096pix)

Guiding: Astrodon MonsterMOAG off-axis guider

Total exposure: 4 hours (L: 1h; RGB: 3h)

Processing: CCDStack, Photoshop CC 2021

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