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| M3 |
M3
Globular Cluster
| Object | M3 - Globular Cluster |
| Constellation | Canes Venatici |
| Date Aquired | 04/23/2003 |
| Camera | ST-2000XM with CFW-8 |
| Exposure | 12X5 Min L, 5X10 Min R (2x2) , 5X5 Min G (2x2), 5X8 min B (2x2) |
| Telescope | Takahashi FS-102 |
| Mount | Losmandy G11 |
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This Globular Cluster is known as M3; the third object in Charles
Messier's catalog of deep sky objects, but the first one he actually
discovered (he stumbled across M1 and M2 in his search for comets, but
they had been discovered before). This cluster orbits our galaxy, sort of
like the moon orbiting the earth, at a distance of about 30,000 light
years. Over 500,000 stars are packed into an area 160 light years across.
The stars are so densely packed, that, if the Earth were in the center of
this cluster, there would be 1,000 stars in the sky brighter than the
brightest star in our sky (Sirius). |