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Socks blown off by M13


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I have achieved that childlike amazement once again like I did when I first saw Saturn a few years ago.

I use Google sky map (in night mode) on my mobile phone, and I noticed a DSO was hanging around the constellation Hercules. I peep a look through the finder, around the keystone and see a fuzzy object, Ok I thought, that must be it.

I popped in my 14mm ES 82° AND NEARLY FELL OFF MY STOOL!!! Holy ####!!! BIG WOW MOMENT!!

Looked just as great if not better with the x2.5 Barlow. Needless to say I hung around this spot for a while. Doubled with a good (first) look at the whirlpool galaxy it turned out to be a really good obs' session.

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Saw M13 for the first time tonight superb. Used 18mm baader ortho to start then 10mm then 6mm which worked very well in my 130p explorer. Could easily make out stars around the central fuzzy bit. Well impressed with the EPs.

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as said m3 and m5 also dont forget m22, seen it for the first time friday night and it was a beaut, holds up to power nice as well like the others try over 200x its jaw dropping

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M13 has to be one of my favourites. It seems to just hover in space like a frozen explosion. Static and dynamic at the same time. The 'foreground' stars seem to come forward from the more nebulous areas 'behind' . I come back to it time and time again to wonder afresh

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I will certainly have a look at the others on the next good night, I have read that there is a good contender for M13 in the vicinity of it aswell. I certainly agree with the comment made by "kerrylewis" in that M13 looked like a frozen explosion in space! Static and dynamic at the same time. I guess I'm going to have to start a list now of things seen and wonders yet to be discovered.

Glad you enjoyed dobfest 2 faulksy, I could of pictured my Dob in the shot you posted last night, along with your Ethos popped in the focuser!!

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  • 1 month later...

Congratulations!

I have hunted for this blessed object for what seems like ages now and still can't pick it up via binos or my baby dob... Despite assistance from TLAO, Pocket Atlas and going over every bit of sky between Vega and Corona Borealis etc I am still struggling to identify the Keystone. Is it me or Hercules that is a bit dim, or is my light polluted location pulling the wool over my eyes? ! Sheesh, I found the Ring easy in comparison.... What am I doing wrong?

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Congratulations!

I have hunted for this blessed object for what seems like ages now and still can't pick it up via binos or my baby dob... Despite assistance from TLAO, Pocket Atlas and going over every bit of sky between Vega and Corona Borealis etc I am still struggling to identify the Keystone. Is it me or Hercules that is a bit dim, or is my light polluted location pulling the wool over my eyes? ! Sheesh, I found the Ring easy in comparison.... What am I doing wrong?

From my light polluted sky the keystone does not exactly stand out like a sore thumb but the 4 stars that form it are all visible with the naked eye (you should see if this is the case first of all).  The problem with globs is that the more light pollution the less the extremities if the object are visible.  I am thinking that the light pollution you are viewing through is really making the cluster look smaller and the brightest part of the core is left for you only.   You could even be overseeing it as just another star, i say this as M92 (visually smaller than M13) from my normal viewing patch can mimic a star quite well at times.  I always go to M13 from Zeta Herculis, that way the jump is the shortest & the least complicated, its also the brightest (i think) of the 4 that make the keystone.  In binoculars you should have it in the field of view if you have tracked a straight line towards Eta Herculis (2/3 of the way along the line between the two).  You will see it i am sure of you practice this jump a few times and the transparency is being fair to you.  Have a sharp eye for a fuzzy star rather than a glorious huge globular.  Then when you are under really nice dark skies expect a glorious globular with all the bells and whistles......Good luck & keep hunting it down.   

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Thanks jabeoo1 :)

Lemme see tonight (if the cloud & haze gods are kind) if I can get to Zeta Herculis, thence onward to the blob! Last night in the vicinity of Hercules with binoculars I saw several 'misty' stars (but not fuzzy like I've seen in the ring & M5) so maybe......Finding it is going to be one of those 'oh, so that's it...DUH' moments I can tell.

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Thanks jabeoo1 :)

Lemme see tonight (if the cloud & haze gods are kind) if I can get to Zeta Herculis, thence onward to the blob! Last night in the vicinity of Hercules with binoculars I saw several 'misty' stars (but not fuzzy like I've seen in the ring & M5) so maybe......Finding it is going to be one of those 'oh, so that's it...DUH' moments I can tell.

Just checking that you are looking at the right four stars. The shortest side of the wonky square should be facing down and left (I've got this one wrong before..). You are looking about a third of the way down the longer side facing down and right (more upright as you hit the wee small hours).

Good luck. This one is worth the wait.

Paul

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Found it! Thanks jabe001 and Paul - SGL pixies sprinkled my ep with lucky-dust last night and with your advice re the Keystone (in the end I came at it diagonally from Alphekka in Cor.Bor) I finally saw the Great Fuzzball! Lovely sight, very pleased. To me it looked like the two flanking stars were making a little clockface, set at 10.30. I must have tracked past it loads of times in my recent fruitless wanderings. Cheers guys :)

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M13 has to be one of my favourites. It seems to just hover in space like a frozen explosion. Static and dynamic at the same time. The 'foreground' stars seem to come forward from the more nebulous areas 'behind' . I come back to it time and time again to wonder afresh

Great explanation.

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Globular clusters are fantastic objects and the brighter ones really "come alive" with some aperture. In fact I'd say that are a class of target that benefits from aperture more than practically any other. With 10" and 12" scopes or larger and good quality medium power eyepieces the views of M13, M97 etc can look almost like their photographs :smiley:

I viewed M13 with a 20" scope a few years back. I won't be forgetting that view in a hurry  :grin:

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