M 3 (NGC 5272) Globular Cluster in Canes Venatici

This is the wonderful globular cluster M 3 in Canes Venatici. It‘s one of the largest and brightest, and is made up of around 500,000 stars. It is estimated to be 11.4 billion years old and 32,600 light-years away from Earth. I had already photographed this cluster for about 3 hours last year and was able to add another 2.5 hours this time, which made the faint stars in the outer regions of the cluster more visible. Well, M 13 in Hercules is even more spectacular, but I think M 3 is worth to take a closer look at it. Hope you like it!

 

Equipment used:

Skywatcher 200/1000 @ 950mm f/5

EQ6-R Pro

ZWO ASI 2600 MC Pro (Gain 100, Offset 18, -10°)

RGB (no filter): 658 x 30" (5h 29‘)

N.I.N.A., Guiding: ZWO ASI 120 MM & PHD2

Bortle 5

Astropixelprocessor, Photoshop, Pixinsight

 

Done