Messier 13 (M13, NGC 6205) is a magnitude 5.8 globular cluster in the constellation of Hercules, and is located at a distance of about 25,100 light years. It has an apparent size of 20 arc minutes and is a beloved visual object which never fails to give a good show in scopes large and small. It contains several hundred thousand stars, and like other globs, is made up of very old stars, with ages estimated at 14 to 24 bilion years old. (SEDS)

Date: July 24 2008
Location: New Ringgold PA
Optics: Meade LX200R 12 inch at f/5.9
Mount: Paramount ME
Camera: SBIG ST-8XME / CFW-8
Guiding: ST-8XME integral guiding chip controlled by Maxim CCD
Exposure: LRGB - Luminance: 10x2 min, R:6x2.1 min, G:6x2 min, B:6x3.38min (color binned 2x2) for total time of 1.1 hours
Processing: Image acquisition using CCD Autopilot. Initial processing was done using Maxim DL with subsequent processing with Photoshop.