Messier 13, the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules
The most spectacular globular cluster in the Northern sky, Messier 13 (NGC 6205) is a gem for sure. The image above is a quick view, suggesting that a deeper investigation would be mind-blowing.
Messier 13 (NGC 6205), the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules.
The image above comes from the sigma clipping combination of 15, 120-second unfiltered exposures, taken with the ARTEC250+Paramount ME+C3Pro61000EC robotic unit available as part of the Virtual Telescope Project facility in Manciano, Italy. Despite the short total integration (30 minutes), the image makes justice of the quality of the night sky at the observing site, the darkest ones in the Italian peninsula.
Messier 13 (aka NGC 6205) was discovered by Halley in 1714 and catalogued by C. Messier 50 years later. Under perfect skies, it is visible to the naked eye as a faint, fuzzy object. It hosts half-a-million stars, placed at about 25.000 light years from the earth, in the Milky Way halo.
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