M92 is a Shapley-Sawyer class IV globular cluster in Hercules, not far from and nearly as beautiful as the famous M13 globular cluster in Hercules. Sadly, because of it’s proximity to M13, this globular cluster is frequently ignored by observers. If it were in a different constellation, it would probably be viewed as showpiece of that constellation. This image shows an unusual feature of M92, a dark “?” shaped globule at the right edge of the cluster that obscures cluster stars. Additional dark globules obscure stars near the bottom edge of the cluster. M92 lies 24,740 light-years from Earth. The distant galaxy in the upper right is MCG7-35-58, which is probably about 500 million light-year away.

Exposures: L:R:G:B=530:50:50:50=11 hours 15 minutes total exposure at f/7.2.

This image was published in the March, 2019 issue of Astronomy magazine.