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Messier 13 - The Hercules Globular Cluster

Messier 13 - The Hercules Globular Cluster

Credit: Giuseppe Donatiello (Oria Amateur Astrophysical Observatory - OAAO)

 

J2000 RA 16h 41m 41.24s Dec +36° 27′ 35.5″

Messier 13 (M13), or NGC 6205, is a globular cluster of about 300,000 stars in Hercules, discovered by Edmond Halley in 1714, and catalogued by Charles Messier on June 1, 1764.

M13 is about 145 light-years in diameter and at 25,100 light-years away from Earth.

The Arecibo message of 1974, which contained encoded information about the human race, DNA, atomic numbers, Earth's position and other information, was beamed from the Arecibo Observatory radio telescope towards M13 as an experiment in contacting potential extraterrestrial civilizations in the cluster.

 

 

127ED f/9 @600mm progressive stack

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Uploaded on June 24, 2025
Taken on June 27, 2025