M13 is the Great Globular Star Cluster in Hercules, the finest cluster 
of its type in the northern sky, and one of the most spectacular objects 
in the heavens.  It was first mentioned by Halley in 1715, and later by 
Messier in 1764.

M13 is located in the "keystone" of the constellation Hercules, about 
one third of the way along a line drawn from Eta to Zeta.  It is easily 
located with binoculars, and may sometimes be seen as a naked eye 
object.

The distance to M13 is between 21,000 and 25,000 light years.  Its 
diameter is approximately 160 light years, and it is approaching us with 
a radial velocity of nearly 150 miles a second.

This image of M13 has been log scaled to bring out detail and to 
compress the brightness range of the image so that it more closely 
resembles that of photographic film.  The digital image processing was 
done by Ben Cushwa and Dr. Greg Latta of Frostburg State University. 

Object: M13 (NGC 6205)
Coordinates: Right Ascension 16hr 39.9m, Declination +36deg 33m
Constellation: Hercules
Size: 23 minutes of arc
Magnitude: 6

Telescope focal length: 500mm
Telescope aperture: 80mm
Camera: Santa Barbara Instruments ST-6
Exposure: 200s (10 @ 20s)
Observer(s): Greg Latta