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M13, the Hercules cluster, is the most impressive
globular cluster readily visible throughout the U.S. It is believed to contain hundreds of thousands (perhaps millions)
of stars bound together by their own gravitational pull. This photograph captures the cluster better than an eyepiece
view at home, but the view through the 10" telescope under a dark sky is simply breathtaking. This object
is a stunning transition after chasing faint galaxies in spring/summer.
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Hercules Globular Cluster M13
(Click
image to enlarge)
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Object Details:
Type:
Globular star cluster
Constellation: Hercules
Distance: 25,100 light-years
Diameter:
145 light-years
Image Details:
Date: April 23, 2009
Site: Harahan,
LA
Conditions: Soggy, unsteady
Exposure: 17x4m
Filters: IDAS LPS-P48
Processing:
MSB Astroart 3.0
Telescope: 9.25" Celestron XLT
Reducer:
Meade, f/6.3
Image CCD: SX SXV-H9C
Guide CCD: SX MX7C
Guide Scope: Vixen
ED80Sf
Image Details:
Date: April 10, 2004
Site:
Harahan, LA
Exposure: CCD, 10 x 2 min.
Filters: Orion SkyGlow LPR
Processing:
MSB Astroart 3.0
Telescope: 10" Meade LX200
Reducer: Meade, f/4.3
CCD: Starlight
Express MX7C
Autoguider: S.T.A.R. 2000
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More on globular clusters: Globular clusters typically swarm
above and below the plane of their host galaxies like moths. Though M13 is a member of our own Milky
Way galaxy, extragalactic globulars have also been photographed. The stars in globular clusters are low in
metallicity, indicating that they are relatively old. Generations of death and rebirth tend to produce metals as
the fusion reaction progresses from burning hydrogen, then helium, then carbon, then more complicated reactions which produce
iron and other metals. Thus globular clusters play an important role in understanding stellar evolution.
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