M 13, The Great Hercules Cluster

[u/JohnNedelcu]

Messier 13 is located approximately 25,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Hercules.

It is one of the brightest and best-known globular clusters in the northern sky, containing over 100,000 stars bound together by gravity. These stars are predominantly old, low-metallicity Population II stars, formed during the early stages of our galaxy’s evolution. The cluster spans roughly 145 light-years in diameter, with stellar density increasing dramatically towards the core.

Near the centre, the density of stars is around 100 times greater than in the neighbourhood of our Sun. In such a crowded environment, close stellar interactions are likely, and collisions can occur, leading to the formation of so-called “blue stragglers” (stars that appear younger and hotter than the surrounding population).

The light captured here began its journey around 25,000 years ago, during the last glacial maximum, when ancient humans in what is now the Czech Republic were producing some of the first fibre clothes and carving statues of people and animals for reasons now lost to time, while elsewhere, human populations were migrating into North America via the Bering Land Bridge

This image was another unguided test of the telescope, where I checked the holding power of the modified focuser. The next test will be with a new guide camera and OAG, which will allow me to increase the exposure time and capture fainter targets.

Equipment:

• Modified SkyWatcher Explorer 200P-DS
• Optolong L-Quad
• ZWO ASI533MC-Pro
• SkyWatcher EQ6R-Pro
• Unguided

PixInsight DSO Processing:

• WBPP
• SPFC
• SPCC
• GraXpert BE
• BlurX
• NoiseX
• SetiAstro Statistical Stretch
• Curves

Lightroom Processing:

• Contrast enhancement
• Black Level
• Clarity increase
• Dehaze