Messier13_v2.jpg

The Great Globular Cluster in Hercules, also referred to as Messier 13. The Hercules Globular Cluster is estimated to be over 11 billion years old and 6,800 parsecs from our planet, with a linear diameter of 145 light years. If you glance over to the right of M13, lies the galaxy NGC 6207 which is located around 30 million light years from Earth.

The image was captured using 31 sub-frames at 60 second exposures each, with a camera temperature set to - 32.2 Celsius. The amatuer-astronomical equipment used, Explorer Scientific ED165-FPL53 APO Triplet Refractor, Sky-Watcher EQ8-R Pro mount, ZWO ASI2600 CMOS color camera, QHY-Polemaster camera for polar alignment and plate solving.