Messier 13 - The Great Globular Cluster in Hercules
Taken by Tom Wildoner on April 8, 2026 @
Weatherly, PA, USA
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Camera Used: Unavailable Unavailable
Exposure Time: Unavailable
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ISO: Unavailable
Date Taken: 2026:05:23 13:44:27
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Details:
Messier 13 (M13 or NGC6205), often hailed as the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules, is one of the most spectacular and well-studied globular clusters in the northern celestial hemisphere. Located approximately 22,000 to 25,000 light-years from Earth, this tightly packed metropolis of stars spans about 145 light-years in diameter and contains several hundred thousand ancient stars, many of which are billions of years older than our Sun. To the naked eye under exceptionally dark skies, M13 appears as a faint, fuzzy patch, but through a telescope, it resolves into a breathtaking, dense swarm of stellar jewels clustering toward a brilliant, highly concentrated core. Because of its high surface brightness and striking structure, it remains a favorite target for amateur astronomers and astrophotographers alike, serving as a quintessential example of the ancient stellar structures that orbit the halo of our Milky Way galaxy.
🔠Technical Details:
Telescope: Sky-Watcher Esprit 120
Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC BIN1
Mount: EQ6R Mount
Capture: 74 x 60 seconds
Location: The Dark Side Observatory (W59), Weatherly, PA (Bortle 4)
Processing: DSS and PixInsight
Image Date: April 8, 2026.
Photographer's website:
https://www.thedarksideobservatory.com
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