Kwychang
M3 Globular Star Cluster
It was first discovered by Charles Messier in 1764.
It's believed that there are over 500,000 stars within this cluster!
That's over half a million Sun's packed together! Can you imagine living on a planet orbiting one of them? You'd need some serious sunblock!
May is the best time of year for observing this jewel of the night which lies some 34,000 light years away from us.
Taken on 23/03/2022 Newhey, Rochdale.
Boring techie bit below for those interested:
Skywatcher quattro 8" S & f4 aplanatic coma corrector
HEQ5 pro mount guided with an Altair 50mm & GPcam setup
Canon 450D astro modded with Astronomik CLS CCD EOS APS-C clip filter. Neewer Intervalometer used to control the exposures.
60 exposures of 102 seconds at ISO 800
Stacked together with 20 each of Flats, Darks, Dark Flats & Bias calibration frames.
Processed with Deep Sky Stacker & StarTools.
M3 Globular Star Cluster
It was first discovered by Charles Messier in 1764.
It's believed that there are over 500,000 stars within this cluster!
That's over half a million Sun's packed together! Can you imagine living on a planet orbiting one of them? You'd need some serious sunblock!
May is the best time of year for observing this jewel of the night which lies some 34,000 light years away from us.
Taken on 23/03/2022 Newhey, Rochdale.
Boring techie bit below for those interested:
Skywatcher quattro 8" S & f4 aplanatic coma corrector
HEQ5 pro mount guided with an Altair 50mm & GPcam setup
Canon 450D astro modded with Astronomik CLS CCD EOS APS-C clip filter. Neewer Intervalometer used to control the exposures.
60 exposures of 102 seconds at ISO 800
Stacked together with 20 each of Flats, Darks, Dark Flats & Bias calibration frames.
Processed with Deep Sky Stacker & StarTools.