🔭 M3

Globular cluster in Canes Venatici

M3 is a globular cluster in the constellation Canes Venatici, with an apparent magnitude of about 6.2, roughly 33.9 thousand light-years away.

Data

Catalogue designation	M3
Object type	Globular cluster
Constellation	Canes Venatici
NGC / IC	NGC 5272
Apparent magnitude	6.2
Distance (approx.)	33.9 thousand light-years

What a globular cluster is

A dense, spheroidal ball of hundreds of thousands of old stars orbiting a galaxy’s halo. Through a small telescope they look like fuzzy stars; in a large one they resolve into glittering swarms.

Other Messier objects in Canes Venatici: M51, M63, M94, M106.

Data: Messier catalogue & IAU constellations, via English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0) · stored statically.