M80 is a small but bright magnitude 7.3 globular star cluster. M80 was discovered by Charles Messier in January 1781 only about three weeks before Mechain independently discovered it. It is often overlooked because it is overshadowed by the nearby show piece globular cluster M4. M80 is a very dense and condensed globular. It is about 36,000 light-years away and has a diameter of about 50 light-years.
This is a composite RGB CCD image taken with a Takahashi FCT-150 telescope. The CCD camera was an SBIG ST-8XE using a CFW-8 color filter wheel. This image was taken from my backyard in Scottsdale, Arizona.
M80 (NGC 6093)
Constellation: Scorpius
RA: 16h 17m 25s Dec: -22d 59' 30"
March 5, 2006
Image by Sid Leach
Scottsdale, Arizona
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