Discover the awe-inspiring M13 Globular Cluster in the constellation Hercules tonight. With binoculars, spot this tight collection of colorful stars, bound by gravity to the Milky Way. Hundreds of thousands of stars, as old as the universe, swirl around like bees to their milky hive. Explore the wonders of the cosmos! ๐๐ญ
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Almost directly overhead tonight find the constellation Hercules. Look for the four stars of his torso that make a trapezoid called โThe Keystone.โ Youโll find it.
Now between the two westernmost stars is a small fuzzy patch of light. Itโs faint! Avoid city lights and grab some binoculars for a better view.
Thatโs M13.
M13 is whatโs known as a globular cluster. A tight, spherical collection of stars held together by gravity. The nearer to the center, the more densely the stars are packed in.
Check out pictures online to see the wondrous shine of hundreds of thousands of colorful stars about as old as the universe itself as they fade with distance from the core.
Around 150 of these globular clusters surround the Milky Way, bound to it by gravity.
So, gravity holds each cluster of swirling stars together, and keeps them attracted to the Milky Way.
Imagine huge spherical collections of stars like these acting as individuals buzzing around the galaxy in orbits โ like bees to their milky hive.