M56 – Globular Cluster in Lyra

Telescope: ES Comet Hunter MN6 at f/4.8, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: Baader modified Nikon 610

Filter: High Point 2” IR Blocking Filter

Guide scope: Williams Optics 50mm, ASI290MM mini, PHD

Exposure: 30x60sec, ISO 200, saved as RAW

Darks: Internal (Long Exposure Noise Reduction On)

Flats: 32×1/4sec, tee shirt flats taken at dusk

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, 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: Backyard Nikon, Nebulosity, Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop

M56 is a relatively small, dense globular cluster that tends to get a bit lost against the background Milky Way. I have always found this to be a somewhat challenging object visually (at least from my backyard) but it blossoms beautifully with a large telescope. This field also shows how well the Comet Hunter fills a full frame camera.

M56 currently rises in the northeast around midnight and is high in the east at dawn.