M 15 - Globular Cluster

[jsmoraes]

GSO 305 mm - Canon Rebel XT - iso 400 - 30 x 1 seg - Vixen 70mm - DSI-Meade

large scale: http://i1063.photobucket.com/albums/t510/jsmoraes/DSO/ps_m15_1k4.jpg

Planetary Nebula Pease 1 in blue - lower left

[Larryp]

Good stuff, Jorge.

[ourkind]

Wow a PN hidden within the Cluster nice target Jorge. Can you tell me if the PN is part of the cluster or is it in the forefront?

[jsmoraes]

It is part of the cluster, Carlos.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_15

"M15 also contains Pease 1, the first planetary nebula discovered within a globular cluster[11] in 1928. Just three others have been found in globular clusters since then."


http://messier.seds.org/more/m015_h2.html

"The pinkish object to the upper left of the cluster's core is a gas cloud surrounding a dying star. Known as Kuestner 648, this was the first planetary nebula to be identified in a globular cluster. In 1928, F. G. Pease, working at the 100-inch telescope of California's Mount Wilson Observatory, photographed the spectrum of K 648 and discovered the telltale bright emission of a nebular gas cloud rather than a normal star. In the ensuing 70 years, only three more planetary nebulae have been discovered in globular clusters."

To identify and locate the PN inside mine, I used that photo. The PN is the bluish, lower left of the core of the cluster:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Messier_15_HST.jpg/1024px-Messier_15_HST.jpg

[ourkind]

Thank you Jorge! That is very interesting and I'm glad to have learnt something new today!