Object: M13 - The Great Hercules Cluster
Date: 6/06/05
Location: My backyard - Las Cruces, NM 
Telescope: 10" Meade LX200 @f/6.3
Guiding: SC1 modified webcam and GuideDog  
Camera: Canon Digital Rebel (300D) @ prime focus using an IDAS LPS filter
Exposure: 15x2min, ISO-400
Processing: Raw images converted to 16bit TIFF, calibrated, and stacked (sigma clipped average) in ImagesPlus. Levels and curves (final color balance) adjusted in Photoshop.
Comments: This globular cluster in Hercules is one of the most spectacular sights in the northern hemisphere.  M13 is currently estimated to reside at a distance of 21,000 light-years and holds over a million stars within a diameter of 160 light-years.

© Dave Dockery 2005