While M13 is likely the best glob you can see from
the northern hemisphere, Messier 3 (M3) is yet
another spectacular cluster. (Fig. 1)M3 is found in Canes Venatici, which will lie
almost at zenith — directly overhead — over
March and April. (Interestingly, Canes Venatici
was considered part of the constellation Ursa
Major, home to the Big Dipper, until 1687,
according to Encyclopedia Britannica.)hough M3 contains 500,000 stars, according to
NASA, it’s actually a bit fainter than M13. But it,
too, is a sight to behold. hough 34,000 light-years
away, it is quite visible in dark-sky locations using
binoculars or a modest telescope.Another interesting globular cluster is M5, one
of the oldest globs we know of in our galaxy; most
of the stars formed more than 12 billion years ago,
NASA says. (Fig. 2)It, like M13, is also home to about 100,000 stars.
Once again, you can see M5 through a small tele-
scope, or even a pair of decent binoculars
(I use Celestron’s 17 x 50s).Open clusters
here are other types of clusters, called
open clusters.hese types of clusters contain a group of stars,
but they’re not as tightly bound together as globs.
Instead, they are more scattered, contain fewer
stars, and tend to be much younger.One of the best open clusters of March and April
is M44, otherwise known as the Beehive Cluster
or Praesepe. (Fig. 3) It is found in the constellation
Cancer.M44 lies just 577 light-years from Earth and is one
of the closest open clusters to Earth. he cluster
contains roughly 1,000 stars and is about 600
million years old. Under dark-sky conditions, you
can see it with the naked eye, though one of the
greatest ways to appreciate an open star cluster is
through binoculars.he most stunning cluster, in my opinion, is
Hyades. Seen in the sky near the star Aldebaran
in the constellation Taurus, it is hard to catch as
it makes low passes in the western skies through
March and April.The stars of Messier 3, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.
(NASA, ESA, STScI and A. Sarajedini/University of Florida)The globular cluster Messier 5 is one of the oldest belonging
to the Milky Way. (ESA/Hubble & NASA)1
2