260613 - M5 "Rose" globular star cluster
ASTRO:
type=Globular Star Cluster
const=Serpens Caput (Head of the Snake)
mag=5.7
dist=24.4 k ly
size=163 ly
IMAGE:
location=Emerald Bay community, Lake Palestine, Texas
BrtlCls=4
moon=3% WnCr
exposure=CMOS OSC: 104x60s (1.7h), G100
EQUIPMENT:
optics=ES102CF APO / Stellarvue 1.0x fltnr, FL=714mm, f/7.0
camera=ZWO ASI2600MC-Pro
filter=Optolong L-Pro LPS
mount=Celestron AVX
guiding=Orion 60x240mm, ZWO ASi224MC
SOFTWARE:
acquisition=NINA, PHD2
processing=PixInsight (RCAstro), Photoshop (WebSharp-Pro), LrC
click image to enlarge
Messier 5 (M5), the galactic "Rose" is perched appx 24,400 light-years away in the constellation Serpens. Also known as NGC 5904, it is one of the oldest, largest, and most dazzling stellar swarms orbiting the Milky Way. Discovered by Gottfried Kirch in 1702, this cosmic wonder packs hundreds of thousands of stars into a tight, spherical gravitational ball that reveals an ancient celestial history.
Although extreme age is a trademark for globulars orbiting inside the Milky Way, M5 is one of the oldest. Its age is estimated to be 13 billion years old. ...nearly as old as the universe itself. It is located appx 24,400 light-years from Earth, and has a diameter of appx 163 light-years. At apparent visual magnitude 5.6, it is visible to the naked eye under dark skies.
Conservative estimates of M5's population of stars report over 100,000 stars exist within its gravitational reach; but some estimates indicate it may hold up to as may as 500,000 stars. Through mid-sized telescopes, the dense, bright core may be seen blending into delicate, curving outer arcs of stars. This structural geometry creates a stunning visual illusion resembling a blooming flower, and earning it the nickname of the "Rose". Unlike the fragile Earth-bound flower, this rose is made of incredibly ancient, low-mass stars. Because it formed during the universe's infancy, M5 lacks the heavy elements common in younger star systems, making it a pristine "fossil record" from the dawn of cosmic time.
M5 creates a very crowded environment within its boundaries. If you could live inside it, your night sky would never be dark. The core is so densely packed that stars sit just fractions of a light-year apart. For comparison, our closest stellar neighbor, Proxima Centauri, is over 4 light-years away. Living inside M5 would mean navigating an environment of perpetual twilight, lit by thousands of stars, each blazing brighter than our full moon. Fortunately, this severe gravitational crowding means planetary orbits are highly unstable, and therefore unlikely to exist. So, you won't need to pack your sunscreen anytime soon.
IMAGER'S COMMENTS:This great hobby never ceases to amaze. Every class of target we visit seems to require an approach that is unique in nearly every aspect of the craft; and, globular star clusters like this one are no exception. Because M5 is comprised entirely of bright stars, and creating a combined brightness not often rivaled (apparent Mag. = 5.7), quick, short exposures are the order of the night. And being short exposures, it is easy to collect a large number of them quickly; hence, making it perfectly acceptable to get "picky" when choosing which ones to stack into the final composite image. Also being such a bright target, long integration time is NOT so important as it is for much more faint targets. In this case, nearly half the subexposures (95 of 199 captured) were discarded, resulting in only 1.7h total integration time. Yet even with that small amount of combined exposure time, the final composite still turned-out excellent. Let the enlarged image fill your PC screen to see how the result turned-out to be one of the most dazzling and beautiful objects captured to-date. M5, the "Rose" is a true Crown-Jewel.
Conservative estimates of M5's population of stars report over 100,000 stars exist within its gravitational reach; but some estimates indicate it may hold up to as may as 500,000 stars. Through mid-sized telescopes, the dense, bright core may be seen blending into delicate, curving outer arcs of stars. This structural geometry creates a stunning visual illusion resembling a blooming flower, and earning it the nickname of the "Rose". Unlike the fragile Earth-bound flower, this rose is made of incredibly ancient, low-mass stars. Because it formed during the universe's infancy, M5 lacks the heavy elements common in younger star systems, making it a pristine "fossil record" from the dawn of cosmic time.
M5 creates a very crowded environment within its boundaries. If you could live inside it, your night sky would never be dark. The core is so densely packed that stars sit just fractions of a light-year apart. For comparison, our closest stellar neighbor, Proxima Centauri, is over 4 light-years away. Living inside M5 would mean navigating an environment of perpetual twilight, lit by thousands of stars, each blazing brighter than our full moon. Fortunately, this severe gravitational crowding means planetary orbits are highly unstable, and therefore unlikely to exist. So, you won't need to pack your sunscreen anytime soon.
IMAGER'S COMMENTS:This great hobby never ceases to amaze. Every class of target we visit seems to require an approach that is unique in nearly every aspect of the craft; and, globular star clusters like this one are no exception. Because M5 is comprised entirely of bright stars, and creating a combined brightness not often rivaled (apparent Mag. = 5.7), quick, short exposures are the order of the night. And being short exposures, it is easy to collect a large number of them quickly; hence, making it perfectly acceptable to get "picky" when choosing which ones to stack into the final composite image. Also being such a bright target, long integration time is NOT so important as it is for much more faint targets. In this case, nearly half the subexposures (95 of 199 captured) were discarded, resulting in only 1.7h total integration time. Yet even with that small amount of combined exposure time, the final composite still turned-out excellent. Let the enlarged image fill your PC screen to see how the result turned-out to be one of the most dazzling and beautiful objects captured to-date. M5, the "Rose" is a true Crown-Jewel.