| Description | The last of 3 entries on June 20, 1764, this was Messier's own discovery (#12), and a tiny cluster in Scutum. <--> This featured image is from March 2025 in good, pre-dawn conditions. M26 contains at least one red giant but most of this not-terribly-dense cluster is made up of blue stars. It is really overshadowed by its context in the sky. I had performed a much less effective capture in May of 2024 using my EdgeHD which could not resolve the background given the poor conditions, angle, and slow optics. This was one of the first Messier objects I'd captured below the celestial equator, and is located on the edge of a whole series of Messier objects which are even further below the equator, defining what is probably the most challenging part of my quest to image all of the objects. M26 is high enough not to be overly challenging, but was foreshadowing challenges to come. I've included an image from the EdgeHD in the Gallery. The combination of faster optics and reduced image scale with the Askar means the background was easily resolved in a brief capture. |
