My submission for the Hubble Challenge for June consisted of a striking face-on spiral galaxy, some pretty globular clusters and another spiral galaxy. with hot star forming regions. You can read more about the Hubble 35th Anniversary Challenge on the Night Sky page.
The two globular clusters, M3 and M5, proved to be forgiving astrophotography targets. Messier 3 (M3) is a brilliant globular cluster located in the constellation Canes Venatici. It’s a popular target for amateur astronomers, especially during “globular season” in the spring. Easily visible with binoculars and stunning through a telescope, M3 is known for its large size, high concentration of stars, and numerous variable stars. It lies about 34,000 light years from Earth.
Messier 5 (M5) is a bright globular star cluster located in the constellation Serpens, approximately 24,500 light-years from Earth. It’s one of the oldest globular clusters in our galaxy, with an estimated age of 13 billion years. M5 is visible with binoculars under dark skies and is a popular target for both visual observers and astrophotographers.
Messier 101, also known as the Pinwheel Galaxy, is a face-on spiral galaxy located in the constellation Ursa Major. It’s a stunning example of a classic spiral galaxy, with bright, luminous arms and extensive star-forming regions. At a distance of 22 to 25 million light-years, it’s a relatively close galaxy and is known for its large size, nearly twice the diameter of our Milky Way. This galaxy was barely discernible in photographs for some reason, but I was able to tease some detail out of it.
NGC 5248 (also known as Caldwell 45 or C45) is a compact intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Boötes. NGC 5248 is a member of the NGC 5248 Group of galaxies, itself one of the Virgo III Groups strung out to the east of the Virgo Supercluster of galaxies. It is a cute, but petite, spiral here.
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