M 56 – Lyr
M 56
In the small constellation of Lyra, the one hosting the bright star Vega, there is the interesting and somewhat neglected globular cluster Messier 56.
Apparently close to M 57, this little gem was discovered by Charles Messier in 1779, while small in angular diameter and located at about 33.000 light years from us, the nucleus of M 56 can be resolved better than expected. This suggests it is not a very concentrated cluster.
The image above comes from the average of 8, 300-seconds unfiltered and unguided exposures, remotely taking using the PlaneWave 17″ robotic unit part of the Virtual Telescope.
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