License: CC0
Original Size: 6000 × 4000 pixels
Description: Messier 3 / M3 / NGC 5272
Messier 3 is one of the brightest globular clusters in the northern sky, consisting of over 500,000 stars. It is about 34,000 light-years away, orbiting the Milky Way, and is estimated to be 11.39 billion years old.
M3 is often overshadowed by M13 despite being the larger cluster. M13 is significantly closer to us, which makes it appear brighter and more spectacular: flic.kr/p/2seQNxW
This is a new version of some old data from 2019/2020. It’s a huge improvement over the previous 2 iterations. Here they are for comparison: 2020: flic.kr/p/2kdWmeC 2023: flic.kr/p/2oKdnJe
I finished this new version last month, but I never got around to uploading it. Since I’m constantly doubting and second-guessing myself, I went back and re-analyzed every step of my processing to make sure I had made the best decisions for the final image. This perfectionism, combined with the fact that I’m too drained to do any editing on work days (and most weekends too), is the reason why it takes years for me to process my images. I’m not sure if it’ll ever get easier.
Total integration: 7 hours 38 minutes (458 minutes) 2019/02/17: 72 x 60 seconds ISO800 [Bortle 6] 2019/03/17: 304 x 60 seconds ISO800 [Bortle 6] 2020/05/02: 41 x 120 seconds ISO200 [Bortle 7]
Location: Charlottesville, VA and Coral Springs, FL SQM: 19.22 mag/arcsec^2 and 18.18 mag/arcsec^2 (Bortle 6 and Bortle 7) Camera: Canon T3i (stock/unmodified) Average camera temperature: 80 F (27 C) Telescope: Explore Scientific ED80 f/6.0 Apochromatic Refractor (with ES field flattener) Mount: Orion Sirius EQ-G Guide scope: Svbony 50mm f/4.0 Guide Scope Guide camera: Orion StarShoot AutoGuider Capture software: N.I.N.A., ASTAP, PHD2
Processing software: PixInsight, GIMP