M 3

M3 (aka NGC 5272) is a globular cluster of stars in the northern constellation of Canes Venatici. It was discovered in 1764 and was the first Messier object to be discovered by Charles Messier himself. Messier originally mistook the object for a nebula without stars. This mistake was corrected after the stars were resolved by William Herschel around 1784. This cluster is one of the largest and brightest, and is made up of around 500.000 stars. It is estimated to be 11.4 billion years old located at 32,600 light-years (10.0 kpc) away from Earth.

Globular cluster M3,  9 April 2016, Noordwijk, William Optics 110 mm APO FLT f/7, Canon EOS 600D, UV-IR, UHC filter,  800 ISO, 30 sec

Globular Cluster M3, Vorst (D), 23 March 2020, William Optics 110 mm APO FLT f/7, Canon EOS 600D, UV-IR, UHC filter, 800 ISO, f = 770 mm,  3600 sec, PixInsight V 1.8.8-5

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