This globular cluster in Canes Venatici was discovered by Charles Messier in 1764. It is made up of about 500,000 stars. At magnitude 6.2, is is visible to the naked eye in very dark skies. This image is a total of 100 minutes taken on April 16, 2009. The temperature was 56° F. The mag. 14.1 galaxy NGC5263 is visible above M3 near the top of the image.
- Orion 80ED (f/7.5)
- Atlas EQ-G w/EQMOD, Guided
- Canon 350D (self-modified) with Astronomik IR-block EOS clip filter + 2" Hutech IDAS LPS filter
- 40 x 150s @ ISO 1600
- Captured/Calibrated/Registered/Stacked/DDP in IP 3.75
- Post processed in Photo Shop CS4/Gradient XTerminator/Noise Ninja/ Carboni's Tools