Our final summertime globular is M55, which lies 8 east of Ascella (Zeta Sagittarii). It glows at magnitude 6.3 and spans 19'. Youll quickly notice that M55 doesnt have a dense core.

Large scopes with eyepieces that provide high powers (300x and above) will reveal several hundred faint stars. And heres something fun you can try: Insert an eyepiece with a tiny field of view. Through it, M55 looks more like an open cluster than a glob.

A 4-inch scope will resolve dozens of stars around M15s bright central region. Observers specifically target the clusters attractive chains of stars. Because of their position, M15 may appear slightly oval through a small scope.

If you head south to Aquarius and look about 5 north of Beta Aquarii, youll encounter one of my favorite globulars: M2. This stellar beehive glows at magnitude 6.6 and measures 12.9' across. Even a small telescope will reveal M2s slightly elliptical shape, although more northerly observers will need steady air near the southern horizon. Its worth the wait.

While youre in M2s neighborhood, head west one constellation and locate M30 in Capricornus. To find this magnitude 6.9 glob, look about 3 east-southeast of Zeta Capricorni.M30 has a diameter of 11'. Through a small scope, youll see lots of resolvable stars surrounding a large, bright core. To resolve that region, youll need a 12-inch scope and a magnification of 300x or more.

Our final object is the lone entry from the winter sky. M79 in Lepus glows at magnitude 7.8 and spans 8.7'. To find it, draw a line from Alpha through Beta Leporis and extend it 3.5.

Small scopes dont reveal much detail in M79. However, a 10-inch instrument shows a bright, wide core. Use a magnification of 200x or more, and youll resolve scores of stars at the clusters edges.

Read more:

Enjoy the sky's great globular - Astronomy Magazine