Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Canes Venatici (CVn)  ·  Contains:  HD119081  ·  HD119391  ·  M 3  ·  NGC 5263  ·  NGC 5272
Messier 3, Dave Boddington
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Messier 3

Messier 3, Dave Boddington
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Messier 3

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Description

Messier 3 is a globular cluster in Canes Venatici. It was discovered on May 3, 1764, and was the first Messier object to be discovered by Charles Messier himself. Messier originally mistook the object for a nebula without stars. This mistake was corrected after the stars were resolved by William Herschel around 1784. Since then, it has become one of the best-studied globular clusters.

This cluster is one of the largest and brightest, and is made up of around 500,000 stars. It is 90 light years across, estimated to be 11.4 billion years old and is located at a distance of about 33,900 light-years away from Earth. It is also 31,600 light years above the Galactic plane and roughly 39000 light years from the center of the Milky Way.

Esprit150/SX46 2hours per channel RGB. Processed in APP Pixinsight and Photoshop.

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Messier 3, Dave Boddington

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