Tackle a Globular Cluster Showdown
Compare Omega Centauri (NGC 5139) to 47 Tucanae (NGC 104). Which do you prefer? Your answer — there’s no right or wrong response — will clue you in on which globular cluster characteristics you respond best to.
Compare Omega Centauri (NGC 5139) to 47 Tucanae (NGC 104). Which do you prefer? Your answer — there’s no right or wrong response — will clue you in on which globular cluster characteristics you respond best to.
M92 in Hercules sometimes gets ignored because observers default to M13 in the same constellation. This cluster, however, is a fine one in its own right.
To see a globular with a different look, point your telescope at M71 in Sagitta. You’ll also notice the rich star field in front of it.
Michael and Michael McGuiggan/Adam Block/NOAO/AURA/NSF
M10 ranks as one of the finest globulars in the constellation Ophiuchus. When you have this object in your scope, study its complex patterns through both low- and high-power eyepieces.
M12 in Ophiuchus is a great object to test against nearby M10. Which do you prefer?
Although M4 in Scorpius is bright, it’s so close that, to some observers, it doesn’t present itself as well as other globulars through a telescope.
The author considers M55 in Sagittarius the most underrated globular in the sky. Spend some time observing it, and you’ll understand why
M22 in Sagittarius is the third brightest of all globulars, outshone only by Omega Centauri and 47 Tucanae. The main factor in how magnificent this cluster appears to you is its altitude. Head south, and view it as high in the sky as you can.
