Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Hercules (Her)  ·  Contains:  Hercules Globular Cluster  ·  M 13  ·  NGC 6205
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M13 - the return of the King, Tom Gray
M13 - the return of the King
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M13 - the return of the King

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Description

At least in the Northern Hemisphere, the globular cluster M13 reigns supreme (although Cepheus may have something to say about that). That said not everyone agrees, including me - M3, M5 and others compete successfully for this title. In truth, they are all subtly different - size, density, colour, age etc - endlessly fascinating, showpiece objects; perhaps we should think of them all as his 'crown jewels'.

M13 has distinctive fans of stars that some liken to propellar blades (obvious in wider field images), weaving away from the tight central cluster, which itself has a cross marked on the spinner. M13 is venerable at 11.6 billion years old, and 25,000 LY distance, and is thought to hold over 100,000 suns - easily visible at magnitude 5.8 in a finder, and as a fuzzy naked eye 'star ' in a dark sky. A perennial favourite.

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