What is it that makes this frame noteworthy? Definitely not the size of the globular cluster to the lower right. With just a little bit more than 6 arc minutes of diameter it is not really a scorer. But the cluster outperforms most of the other milky way objects when it comes to distance. It is so remote that only modern research was able to confirm this cluster to be even part of our home galaxy. Even the "pope of globulars", Harlow Shapley hypothesized in the 20th century this object to be an "intergalactic wanderer", an object formerly ejected from another galaxy. Nowadays the cluster is believed to circle around our milky way once every 3 billion years in a current distance of 300 000 light years. Just to put it into context: The radius of our home galaxy is less than 100 000 light years. So it is definitely part of what astronomers call the outer galactic halo.

It was not good circumstances under which the picture was taken. Although the forecasts were great, the actuals disappointed. Cirrus clouds started to spoil the start of the evening and after they disappeared, air wobbling was keeping my mount continuously busy with correcting for it. But I was extremely excited about the first picture after having successfully cleaned my primary mirror and perfectly re-collimated my 8" RC telescope.

I tried my best to compensate for the weakness of the circumstances with postproduction. Specifically the uneven background brightness was difficult to remove. However, I invite you watch the high resolution image by clicking the preview above or to watch the details here.