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The constellation Scorpius houses several globular clusters. The most notable of these are M4 and M80. Because they are so low in the southern sky, they receive less attention from northern observers than the smaller but more accessible globular clusters M2 and M3. At a distance of 7200 light years, it is only a third the distance of the great Hercules Cluster M13. Also, as one of the most loosely grouped globular clusters, the center of M4 can be resolved visually with backyard telescopes, giving a greater sense of depth at the eyepiece. The reddish or brownish hue is real, due to tinting by interstellar dust.
The view from within a globular cluster must be spectacular. Tens of thousands of nearby stars would fill the night, keeping the sky at a twilight glow. From within M4, John Denver might have written his song as, "Starshine on my shoulders makes me happy, Starshine in my eyes can make me cry....."
This image was obtained with 33 minutes luminence, 18 minutes red, and 9 minutes each of green and blue exposures. An ST10XME camera was used through a TEC140 refractor at f7. Luminence was full resolution, and RGB was binned 2x2. |
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