Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Canes Venatici (CVn)  ·  Contains:  M 3  ·  NGC 5272
M3, RalfThielenPicart
M3
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M3

M3, RalfThielenPicart
M3
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M3

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Description

Messier 3 = NGC 5272 is a galactic globular cluster in the northern sky in the constellation Hounds. It is about 34,000 light-years distant from the solar system, has a diameter of about 125 light-years and is a very large globular cluster with half a million stars.
The stars in a globular cluster are gravitationally strongly bound to each other. This also results in the overall well recognizable spherical shape. In the center, the star density is correspondingly higher than in the edge area. Stars in globular clusters tend to be very old, but they are also pretty much the same age and consist of stars from the first generations. Therefore, the spectral images of such stars lack evidence of heavy elements. The space between the stars is already fairly free of gas and dust, since this matter has already been completely bound in the suns during the many star formations.

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M3, RalfThielenPicart