Saturday, June 28, 2025

Globular Clusters near Arcturus (overnight)

Globular clusters are good deep sky targets for suburban skies, since they
have high surface brightness. Four globular clusters populate the sky just
west of Arcturus, which sits high in the southern sky after dusk in mid-June. At visual magnitude 6.2, Messier 3 is the brightest. You'll find it nearly 12 degrees northwest of Arcturus. Dimmer NGC 5466 is located 5 degrees west of Messier 3. Another bright globular designated Messier 53 sits 15 degrees to
the west of Arcturus and only 1 degree to the northeast of Diadem, Coma Berenices' brightest star. NGC 5053, the dimmest of the four globulars, is located 1 degree southeast of Messier 53. Be sure to spend some time enjoying the Great Hercules Cluster, aka Messier 13 which will reach its highest altitude and best appearance towards midnight.

(Data courtesy of Starry Night)
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