Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Hercules (Her)  ·  Contains:  Hercules Globular Cluster  ·  IC 4617  ·  M 13  ·  NGC 6205  ·  NGC 6207
Great Star Cluster in Hercules, Richard Boyd
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Great Star Cluster in Hercules

Great Star Cluster in Hercules, Richard Boyd
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Great Star Cluster in Hercules

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Description

What looks like a fuzzy ball, up close resolves to a cluster of stars of almost unimaginable number.

Taken in Tantallon, NS, early March.

Messier 13 or M13, sometimes called the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules or the Hercules Globular Cluster, is a globular cluster of several hundred thousand stars in the constellation of Hercules.

About one third of the way from Vega to Arcturus, four bright stars in Herculēs form the Keystone asterism, the broad torso of the hero. In this M13 can be seen ​2⁄3 of the way, north (by west) from Zeta to Eta Herculis. Although only telescopes with great light-gathering capability fully resolve the stars of the cluster, M13 can be visible to the naked eye depending on circumstances. With a low-power telescope, Messier 13 looks like a comet or fuzzy patch.

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Great Star Cluster in Hercules, Richard Boyd