Globular Cluster Messier 5 (M5)
Taken by Tom Wildoner on April 11, 2026 @
Weatherly, PA, USA
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Camera Used: Unavailable Unavailable
Exposure Time: Unavailable
Aperture: Unavailable
ISO: Unavailable
Date Taken: 2026:07:25 19:04:48
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Details:
Messier 5 (M5, NGC 5904) is a magnificent globular cluster located approximately 24,500 light-years away in the constellation Serpens. Discovered by Gottfried Kirch in 1702 and later cataloged by Charles Messier in 1764, it ranks as one of the largest and oldest globular clusters associated with the Milky Way, with an estimated age of nearly 13 billion years. Spanning roughly 165 light-years in diameter, M5 contains hundreds of thousands of stars bound together by gravity, including a remarkably high population of known variable stars—predominantly RR Lyrae types—which have been crucial for astronomers measuring cosmic distances. To amateur astronomers, it is a favorite northern sky target; visible as a faint, fuzzy patch through binoculars, a modest telescope easily resolves its dense, blazing core into a spectacular swarm of individual stars.
Telescope: Meade 12” LX-90 SCT with Antares Focal Reducer
Camera: ZWO ASI071MC (cooled to 0C) BIN2
Mount: Celestron CGX-L pier mounted
Capture: 127 x 60 seconds
Location: The Dark Side Observatory (W59), Weatherly, PA (Bortle 4)
Processing: DeepSkyStacker + PixInsight
Image Date: April 11, 2026.
Photographer's website:
https://www.thedarksideobservatory.com
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