The Hercules Super Cluster of Galaxies……..1/2 a Billion Light Years away!!!!
The Hercules Galaxy Cluster (Abell 2151) is a cluster of about 200 galaxies some 500 million light-years distant in the constellation Hercules.
It is rich in spiral galaxies and shows many interacting galaxies. The cluster is part of the larger Hercules Supercluster, which is itself part of the much larger Great Wall super-structure.
If you have a telescope…..then go to the 5th mag star 5 Hercules and then drift about 30’ (Arc minutes) east to 7th magnitude star HD 144149.
You will need about 200x of magnification, as this seems to work best for this cluster as all its members are very small mainly due to their remoteness!
Try to see how many galaxies you can glimpse with your own eyes! You will have then looked back 1/2 a billion years, or seen light that left those galaxies 1/2 a billion years ago!!!!
1 Hour exposure with my QHY8 Cooled CCD camera & 16″ diameter Homemade Newtonian telescope.
Captured from my observatory in JBSPO in Yellow Springs, Ohio. It wasn’t the best of conditions that night but went for it anyway on 05-31-2014.
Best Regards,
John Chumack
www.galacticimages.com
