M5 Star Cluster
M5 is, under extremely good conditions, just visible to the naked eye as a faint "star" near the star 5 Serpentis (upper right). Binoculars or small telescopes will identify the object as non-stellar while larger telescopes will show some individual stars, of which the brightest are of apparent magnitude 12.2.
M5 was discovered by German astronomer Gottfried Kirch in 1702 when he was observing a comet. Charles Messier also noted it in 1764, but thought it was a nebula without any stars associated with it. William Herschel was the first to resolve individual stars in the cluster in 1791, counting roughly 200.
Spanning 165 light-years in diameter, M5 is one of the largest known globular clusters. The gravitational sphere of influence of M5, (i.e. the volume of space in which stars are gravitationally bound to it rather than being torn away by the Milky Way's gravitational pull) has a radius of some 200 light-years.
At 13 billion years old, M5 is also one of the eldest globular clusters in the Milky Way Galaxy. Its distance is about 24,500 light-years from Earth, and it contains more than 100,000 stars, as many as 500,000 according to some estimates.
The bright star upper right is a binary star HD 136202 (5 Serpentis). If you look closely at the higher resolution image, you will just make out the 'sibling' star, Ser 5b lower right side & almost hidden by the brightness of Ser 5 behind it.
Imaging telescopes or lenses: Takahashi FSQ130ED
Imaging cameras: QSI 6120i
Mounts: Takahashi EM 400 Temma 2M
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Takahashi FS60CB
Guiding cameras: QHY CCD QHY 5 II
Focal Extender / Reducer: None
Software: Sequence Generator Pro SGP (for capture) PHD 2 (guiding), Astro Pixel Processor & PixInsight,
Filters: Astrodon RGB
Accessories: Robofocus Focuser, ATIK EFW3
Original Resolution: 2800 x 2100
Dates: 29th Mar 2019
Frames:
Astrodon R 60 x 1'
Astrodon G 60 x 1'
Astrodon B 60 x 1'
Total integration = 3 hours.
Center (RA, Dec):(229.699, 1.981)
Center (RA, hms):15h 18m 47.727s
Center (Dec, dms):+01° 58' 51.926"
Size:46 x 34.5 arcmin
Radius:0.479 deg
Pixel scale:0.986 arcsec/pixel
Orientation:Up is 180 degrees E of N
M5 was discovered by German astronomer Gottfried Kirch in 1702 when he was observing a comet. Charles Messier also noted it in 1764, but thought it was a nebula without any stars associated with it. William Herschel was the first to resolve individual stars in the cluster in 1791, counting roughly 200.
Spanning 165 light-years in diameter, M5 is one of the largest known globular clusters. The gravitational sphere of influence of M5, (i.e. the volume of space in which stars are gravitationally bound to it rather than being torn away by the Milky Way's gravitational pull) has a radius of some 200 light-years.
At 13 billion years old, M5 is also one of the eldest globular clusters in the Milky Way Galaxy. Its distance is about 24,500 light-years from Earth, and it contains more than 100,000 stars, as many as 500,000 according to some estimates.
The bright star upper right is a binary star HD 136202 (5 Serpentis). If you look closely at the higher resolution image, you will just make out the 'sibling' star, Ser 5b lower right side & almost hidden by the brightness of Ser 5 behind it.
Imaging telescopes or lenses: Takahashi FSQ130ED
Imaging cameras: QSI 6120i
Mounts: Takahashi EM 400 Temma 2M
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Takahashi FS60CB
Guiding cameras: QHY CCD QHY 5 II
Focal Extender / Reducer: None
Software: Sequence Generator Pro SGP (for capture) PHD 2 (guiding), Astro Pixel Processor & PixInsight,
Filters: Astrodon RGB
Accessories: Robofocus Focuser, ATIK EFW3
Original Resolution: 2800 x 2100
Dates: 29th Mar 2019
Frames:
Astrodon R 60 x 1'
Astrodon G 60 x 1'
Astrodon B 60 x 1'
Total integration = 3 hours.
Center (RA, Dec):(229.699, 1.981)
Center (RA, hms):15h 18m 47.727s
Center (Dec, dms):+01° 58' 51.926"
Size:46 x 34.5 arcmin
Radius:0.479 deg
Pixel scale:0.986 arcsec/pixel
Orientation:Up is 180 degrees E of N
Sky Map
Annotated Image
