M-28 (NGC-6626) is a bright globular star cluster located in the constellation of Sagittarius, just 8 degrees SE of the star Lambda Sagittarii. It is a very fine cluster, although it is overshadowed by its larger neighbor, M-22.
M-28 differs from M-22 in that it is very dense and compact, similar to M-92 in Hercules. It lies 18,000 light years from Earth and is 65 light years in diameter. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1764.
This image, acquired on July 14, 2012, is a twenty minute integration of 60 second exposures through the Celestron C-11 at f/2, using the HyperStar III imaging system and the Starlight Express SXVR-H694C color CCD camera, operating at -10 degrees below ambient temperature and binned 1 X 1. Guided, captured and combined using Maxim DL5 Pro. Post processed using PhotoShop CS2, Gradient XTerminator, StarShrink, Carboni's Astro Tools, and NoiseWare.