M31-G072 and M31-G078
M31-G072 and M31-G078 are two bright globular clusters (GC) of the Andromeda Galaxy and are located in its northeastern halo.
G078: is with an apparent magnitude of 14.2mag the third brightest globular cluster in Messier 31 and reaches an absolute magnitude of M= -10.2mag, which
corresponds to a luminosity of 1.05 million suns. It is even brighter than "47 Tuc", the second brightest GC in our own Milky Way. Also "G078" can be seen
under a dark sky with a telescope of 8" aperture. Two bright stars in the close vicinity can serve as landmarks.
G072: is 14.9mag bright and ranks 9th among the brightest globular clusters in M31. With a luminosity of 550.000 Suns it shines only half as bright as G078.
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In my 20" f/3.2 telescope both globular clusters (GC) are visible at a magnification of 120x as faint, very small fuzzy blobs.
But the most beautiful view is at 210...270x. The two GC appear both very bright and clearly diffuse. They become brighter towards the center and directly in
the core a stellar nucleus can be found, an indication of the tremendously high stellar density. Towards the southeast the halo of the Andromeda galaxy becomes
brighter and brighter - as if the dawn starts in the eyepiece.
Simply beautiful! :))
