My first ever capture of the largest globular star cluster in the southern skies! This is Omega Centauri in the constellation of Centaurus. At this time of year it is due south after it gets dark and from my vantage point in south-eastern Arizona it is barely over 8 degrees above the horizon!
This was was first identified as a non-stellar object by Edmond Halley in 1677. Located at a distance of 17,090 light-years from us, it is the largest-known globular cluster in the Milky Way at a diameter of roughly 150 light-years, in other words it would take someone (traveling at the speed of light) 150 years to cross from one side to the other! It is estimated to contain approximately 10 million stars making it the most massive-known globular cluster in the Milky Way. Omega Centauri is thought to have an origin as the core remnant of a disrupted dwarf galaxy.
Now to give this perspective as the relative size of Omega Centauri, the second photo is of another star cluster, Messier 5 (aka M 5) just to the north-east of Omega Centauri. Both were taken with the same telescope and camera.
If you are far enough south you can actually easily see Omega with a common 5x35 binocular. Scan the horizon just after it gets dark, pointing due south and up some from the horizon.
