November 16, 2024

NGC 2419 – Globular Cluster in Lynx

NGC 2419 – Globular Cluster in Lynx – LX850 12” f/8 ACF

Telescope: Meade 12” LX850 ACF @ f/8, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: ZWO ASI071 MC Pro, -10C, Gain 200

Filter: Orion Imaging Skyglow Filter

Guide scope: Astro-Tech 60mm, ASI290MM Mini, PHD2

Exposure: 36x240sec, saved as FITS

Darks: 32x240s, saved as FITS

Flats: 32x1sec, Tee shirt flats taken at dawn

Average Light Pollution: Bortle 8, poor transparency

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.4 mag/arc-sec^2

Stacking: Mean with a 2-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Nebulosity, Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop

NGC 2419 is one of the most remote globular clusters orbiting the Milky Way at a distance of 300,000 light years out in the fringes of the globular cluster halo, that’s nearly twice as far as the Large Magellanic cloud! At one time it was believed that NGC 2419 was not gravitationally bound to the Milky Way and was nicknamed the Intergalactic Wanderer, however it has since been shown to be a member of the Milky Way family. Its great distance and the interstellar dust between here and there contributes to the cluster’s beautiful soft color.

NGC 2419 is currently well placed in the evening rising in the northeast as the sky darkens. It is located about 7 degrees west of Castor, a little bit farther than the angular distance between Castor and Pollux.