Posted on 05/20/2021 5:54:23 PM PDT by MtnClimber
Explanation: In 1716, English astronomer Edmond Halley noted, "This is but a little Patch, but it shews itself to the naked Eye, when the Sky is serene and the Moon absent." Of course, M13 is now less modestly recognized as the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules, one of the brightest globular star clusters in the northern sky. Sharp telescopic views like this one reveal the spectacular cluster's hundreds of thousands of stars. At a distance of 25,000 light-years, the cluster stars crowd into a region 150 light-years in diameter. Approaching the cluster core upwards of 100 stars could be contained in a cube just 3 light-years on a side. For comparison, the closest star to the Sun is over 4 light-years away. The remarkable range of brightness recorded in this image follows stars into the dense cluster core. Distant background galaxies in the medium-wide field of view include NGC 6207 at the lower right.
For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then move the magnifying glass cursor then click to zoom in and click again to zoom out. When zoomed in you can scan by moving the side bars on the bottom and right side of the image.
I’m pretty sure that there is surgery for that.
Enlarge the image. See the X at the core or center of the star cluster?
Strange you posted this as I was just reprocessing the data from M-13 after I imaged it about six nights ago.
Absolutely amazing!
(More inspiring as a globular cluster than a Formica pattern! (Pretty sure Formica appropriated it!))
bttt
I mean, it’s an OK Globular Cluster.
I don’t know if it’s so great.
I had a globular cluster one time. They’re very painful.
A gigantic cousin of the COVID 19 virus?
Looks like a spiral galaxy at about 4 o’clock.
Yes, I had a globular cluster removed in 2008...................
yeah! They got NGC 6207 in the shot too!
Too bad they missed the other two globs in Hercules.
Space, the final frontier, is pretty expansive.
It is humbling to realize how slow the speed of light is compared to the vastness of the universe!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.