                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2024 September 26

                   The Great Globular Cluster in Hercules
    Image Credit & Copyright: Jan Beckmann, Julian Zoller, Lukas Eisert,
                               Wolfgang Hummel

   Explanation: In 1716, English astronomer Edmond Halley noted, "This is
   but a little Patch, but it shows itself to the naked Eye, when the Sky
   is serene and the Moon absent." Of course, M13 is now less modestly
   recognized as the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules, one of the
   brightest globular star clusters in the northern sky. Sharp telescopic
   views like this one reveal the spectacular cluster's hundreds of
   thousands of stars. At a distance of 25,000 light-years, the cluster
   stars crowd into a region 150 light-years in diameter. Approaching the
   cluster core, upwards of 100 stars could be contained in a cube just 3
   light-years on a side. For comparison, the closest star to the Sun is
   over 4 light-years away. The deep, wide-field image also reveals
   distant background galaxies including NGC 6207 at the upper left, and
   faint, foreground Milky Way dust clouds known to some as integrated
   flux nebulae.

                  Tomorrow's picture: in the local universe
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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