Gallery Index

M13

Hercules Globular Cluster

Ancient stars packed into a bright core

TypeCluster ConstellationHercules SeasonSummer PaletteNatural color
Image Details

Capture summary

Catalog M13

Cluster in Hercules

Exposure Broadband RGB

Natural color

Filters Natural color

Broadband RGB

Frame 2021

Summer target / square composition

Exposure Breakdown Broadband RGB

Detailed filter totals have not been entered for this image yet.

Same target, different years.

Older revisions stay in the archive so you can see how the target changed with different equipment, processing, and experience.

A dense old cluster, resolved into a spray of stars that thickens toward the center.

Target Planner

Cluster in Hercules; best planned for June through August from New Jersey.

Best season June through August

Summer targets often improve later at night as the Milky Way climbs higher.

Good from NJ Late spring through early autumn

Assumes a New Jersey backyard horizon and evening imaging.

Object type Cluster

Stable seeing helps star color, roundness, and tight cluster detail.

Constellation Hercules

M13 is listed here in Hercules.

Moon tolerance More forgiving than faint nebulae or galaxies.

Current frame: Natural color / Broadband RGB.

Planning from Sewell, NJ

Calculating target altitude and moon context.

Check your location Open full planner

Use the full planner to enter a ZIP code, choose a date, and compare the target from your sky.

Planning values are approximate and update in your browser.

Planning site Sewell, NJ 39.7700, -75.1400
Current altitude ...

Based on the current time.

Target transit chart Compact altitude curve for this target over a full day. Target ...

Green marks usable dark-sky altitude.

Next transit ...

Next upper transit.

Rise / set ...

Approximate horizon crossing.

Moon now ...

Moon phase and altitude.