Weird Science

M3 - Globular Cluster in Canes Venatici

Polish ver­sion is here

Mes­sier 3 is one of the bri­gh­test and most well-known glo­bu­lar clu­sters in the nor­thern sky. It was disco­ve­red by Char­les Mes­sier in 1764 and is loca­ted appro­xi­ma­tely 33,900 light-years from Earth in the con­stel­la­tion Canes Vena­tici. This clu­ster con­ta­ins more than half a mil­lion stars, making it one of the most mas­sive glo­bu­lar clu­sters in the Milky Way. Its dia­me­ter is about 180 light-years, and its age is esti­ma­ted to be 11.4 bil­lion years. The stars in M3 are pri­ma­rily very old and metal-poor, indi­ca­ting that they for­med during the early sta­ges of our galaxy’s for­ma­tion. One of the most inte­re­sting aspects of M3 is its popu­la­tion of varia­ble stars. The clu­ster con­ta­ins over 270 RR Lyrae varia­ble stars, which are cru­cial for astro­no­mers because they allow astro­no­mers to deter­mine distan­ces in the uni­verse.

Obser­wa­cje

June 29, 2024, aro­und 10:15 PM – Jaworzno (Poland), gar­den
urban con­di­tions, high level of light pol­lu­tion

M3 is fre­qu­en­tly obse­rved by both pro­fes­sio­nal astro­no­mers and ama­teurs. In small tele­sco­pes, it appe­ars as a bri­ght smudge of light, but in lar­ger tele­sco­pes, its com­plex struc­ture and indi­vi­dual stars become visi­ble.

Ilustracja: Photo 1 – without labels

Photo 1 – without labels

Ilustracja: Photo 1 – with labels

Photo 1 – with labels

As seen even in Photo 1, M3 con­ta­ins stars of various types, inc­lu­ding red giants, blue stars, and white dwarfs. Glo­bu­lar clu­sters like M3 are cru­cial for under­stan­ding stel­lar and galac­tic evo­lu­tion. Stu­dy­ing them allows astro­no­mers to deter­mine the age and che­mi­cal com­po­si­tion of the early uni­verse.

The glo­bu­lar clu­ster M3 is one of the most fasci­na­ting objects in the night sky. Stu­dy­ing it pro­vi­des essen­tial infor­ma­tion about the for­ma­tion and evo­lu­tion of our galaxy and helps improve our under­stan­ding of cosmic distan­ces. The abun­dance of varia­ble stars in this clu­ster makes it an indi­spen­sa­ble tool for astro­no­mers stu­dy­ing the uni­verse.

Photo 1 Para­me­ters:

  • Total expo­sure time: 8 minu­tes (stack of 24 RAW fra­mes at 20s each, using an appro­priate num­ber of dark, bias, and flat fra­mes)
  • ISO: 1600
  • Canon EOS 600D
  • Lens: zoom type (used at fmax = 250mm)
  • Aper­ture: f/4 (the smal­lest pos­si­ble for the lens used)
  • Mount: equ­a­to­rial mount with trac­king, ali­gned using the drift method and con­trol­led by a custom-built sys­tem

Fur­ther rea­dings:

Marek Ples

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