Stephan Hamel
Globular Cluster M13
The very well know globular cluster M13. The second biggest one orbiting our galaxy, the Milky Way.
Globular clusters are regions of spaces densely packed with stars. There are a number of them orbiting around the Milky Way. M13 is about 145 light-years in diameter and 22,000 light years away (which is next door). It is composed of several hundred thousand stars, some of which are as old as the universe. Stars will sometimes collide and form new stars which are blue in color.
In 1974, in the hope of reaching potential extra-terrestrial civilizations, a message was sent towards the cluster with the help of the Arecibo radio-telescope. The message encoded information about the human race, DNA, atomic numbers, Earth's position and other information. There is very little chance the message will ever be heard as technologically advanced civilizations need a stable environment to develop such as what humans have enjoyed on this planet. Due the close proximity of stars in this cluster, collisions between them are likely happening often. As a result, planets around them are likely crushed or tossed around quite a bit making life very difficult to establish itself and evolve...
What I really find cool about the picture is the presence of a tiny galaxy next to the cluster. This galaxy is about 500 million light-years away. This means the photons coming from the galaxy I captured that night, had left the galaxy when life was barely walking out of the oceans on Earth...
Imaged with a ZWO 1600MM and a Celestron SCT 8inch and a calm and clear night.
Globular Cluster M13
The very well know globular cluster M13. The second biggest one orbiting our galaxy, the Milky Way.
Globular clusters are regions of spaces densely packed with stars. There are a number of them orbiting around the Milky Way. M13 is about 145 light-years in diameter and 22,000 light years away (which is next door). It is composed of several hundred thousand stars, some of which are as old as the universe. Stars will sometimes collide and form new stars which are blue in color.
In 1974, in the hope of reaching potential extra-terrestrial civilizations, a message was sent towards the cluster with the help of the Arecibo radio-telescope. The message encoded information about the human race, DNA, atomic numbers, Earth's position and other information. There is very little chance the message will ever be heard as technologically advanced civilizations need a stable environment to develop such as what humans have enjoyed on this planet. Due the close proximity of stars in this cluster, collisions between them are likely happening often. As a result, planets around them are likely crushed or tossed around quite a bit making life very difficult to establish itself and evolve...
What I really find cool about the picture is the presence of a tiny galaxy next to the cluster. This galaxy is about 500 million light-years away. This means the photons coming from the galaxy I captured that night, had left the galaxy when life was barely walking out of the oceans on Earth...
Imaged with a ZWO 1600MM and a Celestron SCT 8inch and a calm and clear night.