M22 lies in the constellation Sagittarius, about 2.3 degrees northeast 
of Lambda Sagittarii.  M22 ranks among the six finest globular clusters 
in the heavens, and is equalled, in the northern sky, only by the great 
M13 in Hercules.

The discovery of M22 is usually credited to the obscure astronomer 
Abraham Ihle in 1665.  In total light, M22 probably ranks in third place 
among all the known globulars in the heavens.  It is also one of the 
easiest globular clusters to resolve.  M22 lies at a distance of about 
9600 light years, and the bright central mass is about 50 light years in 
diameter.

This image of M22 has been log scaled to bring out detail and to 
compress the brightness range of the image so that it more closely 
resembles that of photographic film.  The digital image processing was 
done by Ben Cushwa and Dr. Greg Latta of Frostburg State University. 

Object: M22 (NGC 6656)
Coordinates: Right Ascension 18hr 33.3m, Declination -23deg 58m
Constellation: Sagittarius
Size: 17 minutes of arc
Magnitude: 6

Telescope focal length: 500mm
Telescope aperture: 80mm
Camera: Santa Barbara Instruments ST-6
Exposure: 200s (10 @ 20s)
Observer(s): Greg Latta and Suzanne Moore