| Description | M70 is the near twin of M69, also at DEC -32 and discovered by Messier (#33) on the same date, August 31, 1780. As the catalog records: `Nebula without star, near the preceding [M69], & on the same parallel: near it is a star of the ninth magnitude & four small telescopic stars, almost on the same straight line, very close to one another, & [they] are situated above the nebula, as seen in a reversing telescope". <--> M70 is ranked 24 and 26 respectively for brightness and diameter among all Messier GC's. This is another object I captured from the Ashokan Reservoir, taking advantage of its flat southern horizon. You can see the four "telescopic" stars that Messier alludes to in my capture, etching a straight line vertically from the left side of the cluster. It resembles a quarter note in musical notation, flipped L to R. Unlike, M69, on close examination the core is distorted, with some bright stars extending the core towards 2 o'clock. |
