M3 (NGC 5272) is a big globular cluster just barely in the boundaries of the constellation Canes Venatici (Hunting Dogs). At magnitude 6.2 it is just naked-eye-visible under dark skies. Messier’s search for comet-like objects starting with M3 led him to catalog the objects up to M40 in 1764.

M3

This time of year (April) the Milky Way is on the horizon, for us now as it was for Messier then, when we look straight up we’re looking straight out of the Galaxy. The galactic pole is straight up in Coma Berenices. Continue reading →