M5 Globular Cluster in Serpens




This week we re-visit one of the most interesting globular clusters in the sky. Although Messier was convinced that it was just a "nebula containing no stars", the view in a modern telescope of moderate size is a mind boggling burst of jewels.

M5 is about 27,000 light years away and if the Sun were at this distance, it would be a magnitude 19 star, only visible in long exposure photographs. The reason we see M5 at all is because it contains a large population of very large red giant stars, each of which is several thousand times brighter than the Sun.




This image was a composit of 30 sec exposures through color filters with the MX5 camera and the 16" Newt.






All film photos taken with the...
JSP ASTROCAMERA

Astro Photo Index For the most recent Astrophotos of the Week... RECENT PHOTOS


ASTRONOMY PAGE

HOME PAGE

Jack Schmidling Productions, Inc.
18016 Church Road ~ Marengo IL 60152
Phone:815 923 0031 ~ Email:arf@mc.net