M13 the Great Cluster in Hercules

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Photographer:

Paul Winn

Location of Photo:

Cachuma Lake, Ca (Santa Barbara County)

Date/Time of photo:

8/09/2013

Equipment:

Telescope: Astrotech 111mm @ f/7 CCD: QHY10 CCD Camera Mount: Skywatcher AZ-EQ6 SynScan GPS Image: 12 x 10 min, 2 Hours Guider: Orion 80mm f/5, QHY5L

Description:

Messier 13 (M13), also designated NGC 6205 and sometimes called the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules or the Hercules Globular Cluster, is a globular cluster of about 300,000 stars in the constellation of Hercules M13 was discovered by Edmond Halley in 1714, and catalogued by Charles Messier on June 1, 1764. It is located at right ascension 16h 41.7m and declination +36° 28'. With an apparent magnitude of 5.8, it is barely visible with the naked eye on a very clear night. Its diameter is about 23 arc minutes and it is readily viewable in small telescopes. Nearby is NGC 6207, a 12th magnitude edge-on galaxy that lies 28 arc minutes directly north east. A small galaxy, IC 4617, lies halfway between NGC 6207 and M13, north-northeast of the large globular cluster's center.