Friday, March 27, 2026
Two globular clusters, M3 and M13
The imaging season of 2026 is soon coming to an end here at 65°N. I managed to capture a couple of hours of new data for two northern globular clusters, M3 and M13.
My new processing method reveals extremely faint stars and shows that these clusters have a much larger angular diameter than is usually seen in images of them.
Both LRGB images have a total exposure time of about four and a half hours, captured under heavily light-polluted skies. The primary imaging optics were a Celestron EdgeHD 11", with an additional two hours of data for each target taken using a Celestron EdgeHD 14". Both telescopes were used with a 0.7× reducer.
MESSIER 13
Click for a large image, 2300 x 1800 pixels
Click for a large image, 2300 x 1800 pixels
My previous version of this cluster can be seen HERE
INFO
M13 is located in the constellation Hercules at a distance of about 25,000 light-years. The Great Globular Cluster in Hercules is one of the brightest globular star clusters in the northern sky. Its stars are packed into a spherical formation with a diameter of approximately 150 light-years.
MESSIER 3
Click for a large image, 2300 x 1800 pixels
My previous version of this cluster can be seen HERE
INFO
Messier 3 (also known as M3 or NGC 5272) is a globular cluster in the constellation Canes Venatici.
It is one of the largest and brightest globular clusters, located at a distance of about 33,900 light-years from Earth. M3 has an apparent magnitude of 6.2, making it visible to the naked eye under dark-sky conditions.
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