M3 is one of the largest Globular Clusters visable in the Northern Sky. It is just bright enough (magnitude 6.3) to be a "naked eye" object from a site with a dark sky. Globular clusters are ancient star groups that orbit the Milky Way Galaxy, this one is approximatly 32,000 light years from earth. It is located in the constellation Canes Venatici and is near the bright star Arcturus. This cluster was discovered my Charles Messier in 1764.

Photo details:

Date: May 16th, 2009
Telescope: William Optics FLT 110 Lite
Mount: Celestron CGE
Camera: Canon Rebel XT modified by Hap Griffin
Exposures: 16 x 90 second shots, ISO 800
Processing: Combined and Calibrated in Deep Sky Stacker. Post p[rocessed in PixInsight LE and Photoshop CS3