Messier 15 (M 15)

Introduction | Map | Find/Identify | My Best Own Photos | My Own Observations | References || Appendix: My Own Photos

On this page I collect my observations of the globular star cluster M 15 (NGC 7078) in the constellation Pegasus.

Introduction

M 15 is a globular star cluster that is located in the constellation Pegasus. Together with M 13, M 5, and M 3, it is counted among the "fantastic four" of the globular clusters in the northern hemisphere (Stoyan). Supposedly, it is the best globular cluster in autumn.

M 15 (NGC 7078)
Size: 6' (Stoyan), 10' (Karkoschka)
Distance: 31,000 light years (Stoyan)
Rating: **** (Stoyan).

Map

M 15 in the constellation Pegasus in a larger overview (M 2 in constellation Aquarius is also indicated as well as some other globular star clusters) (Image Courtesy of SkySafari Astronomy, www.simulationcurriculum.com)

Find/Identify

Find: The globular cluster M 15 in the constellation Pegasus is located at the right edge of the constellation. If you extend the connecting line between the stars Baham and Enif for about another half, you will find M 15 (the globular star cluster M 2 in the constellation Aquarius is not too far away...):

Identify: If the globular cluster M 15 in the constellation Pegasus was found in the way as described above, it is also identified, because other globular clusters lie somewhat further away. (Image Courtesy of SkySafari Astronomy, www.simulationcurriculum.com)

My Best Own Photos

Atik Infinity & Explorer 150PDS

M 15 - Dec 31, 2017		M 15 - Dec 31, 2017, processed		M 15 - Dec 31, 2017, processed and sharpened
M 15 - Dec 31, 2017		M 15 - Dec 31, 2017, processed		M 15 - Dec 31, 2017, processed and sharpened
M 15 - Dec 17, 2020		M 15 - Dec 17, 2020, processed		M 15 - Dec 17, 2020, processed and sharpened

eVscope

M 15 - Aug 24, 2020		M 15 - Aug 24, 2020, processed		M 15 - Aug 24, 2020, processed and sharpened
M 15 - Aug 24, 2020		M 15 - Aug 24, 2020, processed		M 15 - Aug 24, 2020, processed and sharpened
M 15 - Sep 18, 2020		M 15 - Sep 18, 2020, processed		M 15 - Sep 18, 2020, processed and sharpened
M 15 - Oct 19, 2020		M 15 - Oct 19, 2020, processed		M 15 - Oct 19, 2020, processed and sharpened
M 15 - Oct 23, 2021		M 15 - Oct 23, 2021, processed		M 15 - Oct 23, 2021, processed and sharpened

eVscope 2

M 15 - Nov 2, 2022 (third sample)		M 15 - Nov 24, 2022 (third sample)		M 15 - Oct 10, 2023 (third sample)
M 15 - Nov 2, 2022 (third sample), processed		M 15 - Nov 24, 2022 (third sample), processed		M 15 - Oct 10, 2023 (third sample), processed

Vespera

M 15, Aug 15, 2022 - original (93 frames = 930 seconds)

Vespera Pro

M 15 - Aug 5, 2022 - 1800 (92 frames = 920s), section		M 15 - Aug 5, 2022 - 1800 (92 frames = 920s), section, processed (Siril, AP)

My Own Observations

Observations Autumn 2016

• Early October 2016 (Sumène, Haute Loire, France: Heritage 100P): Observed M 15 at different magnifications (up to 100 x) (not found at first).
• October 31, 2016 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: Heritage 100P, LT binoculars): Found M 15 with the telescope and observed with 16 mm, 7mm, and 4mm eyepieces (= up to 100 x); not found with binoculars.

Observations September 2017

• Sep 21, 2017 (Sumène, Haute Loire, France: Heritage 100P) : M 15 observed at different magnifications (24 mm, 16 mm, 7 mm, 4 mm = up to 100 x); comparatively small in relation to M 13.

Observations End of November 2017 until End of 2017

• Observations with the Atik Infinity camera, see My Own Photos.

Observations September/October 2018

• Sep 17, 2018 (Sumène, Haute Loire, France: PS 72/432 on AZ Pronto Mount): M 15 first thought of as a star and "not found"; after looking at a sky map then found and seen well at different magnifications - but small (that is probably why I initially thought of it as a star and did not find it...).
• Oct 4, 2018 (ditto ): M 15 seen well, but M 2 seen even better...

Observations November 2018

• Nov 11, 2018 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: Heritage 100P on AZ Pronto Mount): Found M 15 with the telescope and observed it with 24 mm and 4mm eyepieces (= up to 100 x); comparatively small.

Observations September to November 2019

• September 18, 2019 (Sumène, France: StarTravel 120/600 on AZ Pronto Mount): M 15 (24, 10, 4 mm) beautiful, but not resolvable
• October 31, 2019 (Erkerode: Skymax-127 on AZ Pronto Mount): M 15 (24, 16, 10 mm) beautiful at various magnifications, not resolved even at high magnification
• November 29, 2019 (Erkerode: C8 on GoTo mount): M 15 (56, 38, 35, 32, 28, 24, 18, 16, 10 mm) seen very well. When using long focal length eyepieces (56 mm, 38 mm, 35 mm, 32 mm), I noticed the bright core, which was surrounded by a glowing region. M 15 was also beautiful with my 28 and 24 mm eyepieces (73 x and 84 x). At a magnification of a little more than 100 x, M 15 was already quite large (18 mm, 16 mm), but I was not yet able to resolve the cluster into stars. This was achieved at a magnification of 200 x (10 mm), but only with averted vision. But the cluster had already a discernible structure.
• December 4, 2019 (Erkerode: C8 on GoTo mount): M 15 observed in different eyepieces (56, 35, 28, 24, 18, 16, 10 mm), which was basically very similar to M 2; at long focal lengths, the bright core was clearly visible. I was not able to resolve the cluster into stars, probably because of the full moon. The sky background was relatively bright, because the moon was still to the left of M 2/M 15.

Observations December 2019 to January 2020

• December 28, 2019 (Mühlhausen: C8 on AZ4 mount, Skymax-127 on AZ Pronto mount): Observed M 15 with C8/AZ4 (40, 28, 16, 10, 7 mm) and SM127/Pronto (24, 16, 10, 7 mm) and saw it quite large; it appeared brighter and "more extended" in the C8; in it I was even able to guess fine stars with a magnification of 200 x and more, and was able to see some structure; in the SM127, I saw some structure, but no stars; overall, it was a "more relaxed observing" with the C8.
• December 29, 2019 (Mühlhausen: C8 on Star Discovery mount (motor-driven, no alignment/manually), Explorer 150PDS on AZ4 mount, Skymax-127 on AZ Pronto mount): M 15 observed in all three telescopes with low magnification first, later also with medium and high (around 200 x) magnification; in the C8 (low magnification), M 15 initially showed a very bright core, but also the sky background was also bright; a bright core in the Explorer 150PDS as well, but maybe the sky background was a bit darker; faintest in SM127, but the background was also darker; Astrid liked M 15 in SM127 as well.
  It was hard for me to judge whether the C8 or the 150PDS was better; the SM127 was clearly behind for me, especially regarding brightness; in none of the telescopes I was able to see fine stars (the sky was probably not optimal at times....), also not at about 200 x (SM127: 7 mm = 214 x; 150PDS: 4 mm = 187.5 x; C8: 10 mm = 203 x); at about 200 x, I found the C8 best; altogether I tried many eyepieces, but did not write down any differences...
• January 16, 2019 (Mühlhausen: C8 on Star Discovery mount (SynScan WLAN, iPhone), PS72 on AZ Pronto mount): M 15 accessed with C8 on GoTo mount, missed it somewhat, but was able to "catch" M 15. With the PS72, I searched for M 15 according to the finder view in the C8, and found it. Not surprisingly, M 15 was clearly brighter in the C8 than in the PS72.
  C8: 40, 24, 10 mm; the sky was rather bright in the West, even at 200 x, I was not able to resolve M 15 into stars.
  PS72: 10, 4 mm; M 15 faint with 108 x, but still visible; M 15 not resolvable into stars...

Observations August to December 2020

• August 19, 2020 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope): M 15 photographed (n.o., r.f.), new moon
• August 24, 2020 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope): M 15 photographed (n.o., r.f.)
• September 8, 2020 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope): M 15 photographed (n.o., r.f.)
• September 18, 2020 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope): M 15 photographed (n.o., r.f.)
• October 10, 2020 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope): M 15 photographed (n.o., r.f.)
• October 19, 2020 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope): M 15 photographed (n.o., r.f.)
• December 17, 2020 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: C8 on Star Discovery mount, Atik Infinity): M 15 photographed

Observations August to December 2021

• August 14, 2021 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: C8 on Star Discovery Mount): M 15 observed, much brighter than the GCs that I had observed in Ophiuchus, fairly well resolvable into stars (SQM 20.1)
• October 23, 2021 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope): M 15 photographed (n.o., r.f.; app version 1.4.3)
• November 9, 2021 (Mühlhausen: PS 72/432 on AZ-GTi mount): M 15 photographed (StellarMate, Live View)
• November 23, 2021 (Mühlhausen: PS 72/432 on AZ-GTi mount): M 15 photographed (StellarMate, Live View and Live Stacking)
• December 5, 2021 (Erkerode: eVscope2): M 15 photographed (n.o., r.F.; app version 1.5)
• December 10, 2021 (Erkerode: eVscope2): M 15 photographed (n.o., r.F.; app version 1.5)

Observations August to November 2022

• August 15, 2022 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: Vespera): M 15 photographed
• November 2, 2022 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope2): M 15 photographed
• November 24, 2022 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope2): M 15 photographed (app version 2.2.0)

Observations October 2023

• October 10, 2023 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope2): M 15 photographed (app version 2.5)

Observations August 2024

• August 5, 2024 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: Vespera Pro): M 15 photographed

References

• Messier Catalogue - Messier 15: messier.seds.org/m/m015.html
• Messier 15 (Wikipedia): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_15

On this Site

• Sky-Watcher Heritage 100P Information (4" Dobson)
• Omegon Photography Scope 72/432 ED OTA Information (2.8" Refractor)
• Sky-Watcher StarTravel 120/600 OTA Information (4.7" Refractor, Borrowed)
• Sky-Watcher Skymax-127 OTA Information (5" Maksutov-Cassegrain)
• Celestron C8 OTA Information (8" Schmidt-Cassegrain)
• Unistellar eVscope Information
• Unistellar eVscope 2 Information
• Vaonis Vespera - Information
• Vaonis Vespera Pro - Information
• Sky-Watcher AZ Pronto Mount Information
• Sky-Watcher Star Discovery AZ GoTo Mount Information
• Sky-Watcher AZ4 Mount Information
• Sky-Watcher AZ-GTi AZ GoTo Mount Information
• Ikarus StellarMate Plus - Information
• ZWO ASI224 Color Camera - Information
• Atik Infinity Colour Camera - Information
• My Binoculars

Appendix: My Own Photos

Atik Infinity

Heritage 100P (November 29, 2017)

M 15 (Pegasus), unprocessed		M 15 (Pegasus), post-processed

Atik Infinity & Heritage 100P (December 7, 2017)

With Barlow Lens (2 x)

M 15 (Pegasus), unprocessed		Ditto, post-processed		Ditto, more "aggressively" post-processed

With Focal Extender (2 x)

M 15 (Pegasus), unprocessed		Ditto, post-processed		Ditto, more "aggressively" post-processed

Explorer 150PDS (December 31, 2017)

M 15 (Pegasus), unprocessed		Ditto, post-processed		Ditto, post-processed and sharpened
M 15 (Pegasus), unprocessed		Ditto, post-processed		Ditto, post-processed and sharpened

C8 (December 17, 2020)

M 15 (Pegasus), unprocessed		Ditto, post-processed		Ditto, post-processed and sharpened

ASI ZWO224

M 15 - Nov 9, 2021, PS 72/432, Live View		M 2 - Nov 23, 2021, PS 72/432, Live View		M 2 - Nov 23, 2021, PS 72/432, Live Stack

eVscope

M 15 - Aug 19, 2020		M 15 - Aug 19, 2020, processed		M 15 - Aug 19, 2020, processed and sharpened
M 15 - Aug 19, 2020		M 15 - Aug 19, 2020, processed		M 15 - Aug 19, 2020, processed and sharpened
M 15 - Aug 24, 2020		M 15 - Aug 24, 2020, processed		M 15 - Aug 24, 2020, processed and sharpened
M 15 - Sep 8, 2020		M 15 - Sep 8, 2020, processed		M 15 - Sep 8, 2020, processed and sharpened
M 15 - Sep 8, 2020		M 15 - Sep 8, 2020, processed		M 15 - Sep 8, 2020, processed and sharpened
M 15 - Sep 18, 2020		M 15 - Sep 18, 2020, processed		M 15 - Sep 18, 2020, processed and sharpened
M 15 - Sep 18, 2020		M 15 - Sep 18, 2020, processed		M 15 - Sep 18, 2020, processed and sharpened
M 15 - Oct 10.2020		M 15 - Oct 10, 2020, processed		M 15 - Oct 10, 2020, processed and sharpened
M 15 - Oct 19, 2020		M 15 - Oct 19, 2020, processed		M 15 - Oct 19, 2020, processed and sharpened
M 15 - Oct 19, 2020		M 15 - Oct 19, 2020, processed		M 15 - Oct 19, 2020, processed and sharpened
M 15 - Oct 23, 2021		M 15 - Oct 23, 2021, processed		M 15 - Oct 23, 2021, processed and sharpened
M 15 - Oct 23, 2021		M 15 - Oct 23, 2021, processed		M 15 - Oct 23, 2021, processed and sharpened

eVscope 2

M 15 - Dec 5, 2021		M 15 - Dec 5, 2021, exposed manually
M 15 - Dec 5, 2021, photo on top processed		M 15 - Dec 5, 2021, photo on top processed
M 15 - Dec 10, 2021		M 15 - Dec 10, 2021, photo left processed		M 15 - Dec 10, 2021, processed and sharpened
M 15 - Dec 10, 2021, exposed manually		M 15 - Dec 10, 2021, photo left processed		M 15 - Dec 10, 2021, processed and sharpened
M 15 - Nov 2, 2022 (third sample)		M 15 - Nov 24, 2022 (third sample)		M 15 - Oct 10, 2023 (third sample)
M 15 - Nov 2, 2022 (third sample), processed		M 15 - Nov 24, 2022 (third sample), processed		M 15 - Oct 10, 2023 (third sample), processed

Vespera

M 15, Aug 15, 2022 - original (93 frames = 930s)

Vespera Pro

M 15 - Aug 5, 2022 - 1800 (92 frames = 920s)		M 15 - Aug 5, 2022 - 1800 (92 frames = 920s), processed (Siril, AP)