Globular Star Cluster M-54 (NGC 6715)

The image was taken with an ST-6 CCD camera thru Kopernik's 20-inch telescope working at a focal ratio of F/4.9. This was an 8 minute exposure and the image scale is about 9 x 12.5 arc minutes, or 2.3 arc seconds per pixel.
North is at the top.

Description of M-54 in The Deep Sky Field Guide to Uranometria 2000:

Brightest stars = magnitude 15.5
horizontal branch stars magnitude = 17.7
Concentration: 3 (scale 1{dense} to 12{loose})

Distance = 49,000 light years; diameter = 55 light years;

Viewed in a small telescope, M54 is bright but very small. It looks almost like a planetary nebula at first sight and is quite round. Its diameter, although given at 6’, seems only about half that. M-54 will stand high power well but even a magnification of 250x may fail to resolve it.

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• M-54, NGC 6715
• Magnitude: 7.7
• Constellation: Sagittarius
• RA: 18h 55m 5.9s
• Dec: -30d 29' 00" Epoch 2000
• Size (mins): 9.1
• Classification: Globular Cluster
  

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George Normandin, KAS

November 11th, 1997