Finder Chart for Jim’s Pick of the Month April 2021 Messier 3

FACTS Object: Cluster Type: Globular Class: VI Designations: Messier 3, M3, NGC 5272, GCl 25, C 1339+286 Constellation: Canes Venatici Right Ascension: 13h 42m 11.62s Declination: +28°22’38.2” Distance: 33,900 light years (10.4 kiloparsecs) Age: 11.39 billion years Number of stars: 500,000 Apparent magnitude: +6.2 Absolute magnitude: -8.93 Messier 3. Image: Wikisky

Messier 3 (M3) is a globular cluster located in the constellation Canes Venatici, the Hunting Dogs. It is one of the brightest, largest globular clusters in the sky. M3 has an apparent magnitude of 6.2 and is approximately 33,900 light years distant from Earth. It has the designation NGC 5272 in the New General Catalogue.

With a visual magnitude of 6.2, Messier 3 is difficult (but not impossible) to see without binoculars even in good viewing conditions, but the cluster appears fully defined in a moderate-sized telescope. A 4-inch telescope will reveal the bright core without resolving individual stars. A 6-inch instrument will resolve some of the outer stars, while an 8-inch telescope will reveal the stars everywhere in the cluster except in the bright core region. The central region of M3 can only be resolved into stars by larger instruments, starting with telescopes with a 12-inch aperture.

Messier 3 can be found halfway from the bright star Arcturus in Boötes constellation to Cor Caroli in Canes Venatici. It lies about 6 degrees north-northeast of Beta Comae Berenices, near the border between the constellations Canes Venatici and Boötes. The best time of year to observe the cluster from northern latitudes is during the months of March, April and May.