Telescope: Unitron 142 3” f/15 Refractor
Camera: ZWO ASI294MC (uncooled)
Filter: Meade IR Cut Filter
Guide scope: None
Exposure: 32x10sec, Gain 200, saved as PNG
Darks: None
Flats: Synthetic
Average Light Pollution: Red zone, poor transparency, haze, low altitude
Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.0
Stacking: Mean with a 1-sigma clip.
White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic
Software: SharpCap Pro, Nebulosity, Photoshop
M3 is a beautiful example of a globular cluster in a relatively lonely stretch of sky. The cluster is a member of the galactic halo and spends much of its time orbiting well outside the plane of the galaxy. It is presently 33,000 light years away from us, 40,000 light years from the galactic core, and 33,000 light years ‘above’ the galactic plane. Home to about 500,000 stars, M3 is relatively young as globular clusters go with an estimated age of 8 billion years.
This is one of a series of ‘just for fun’ images taken with my 50 year old Unitron 142 3” f/15 refractor. I was pleased to find that the overall tracking quality of this mount is comparable to many modern mounts suggesting that it could be used for basic imaging using modern camera and processing techniques. So far the results have been surprisingly good and a lot of fun!
M3 currently rises in the northeast during the late evening.
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