Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Canes Venatici (CVn)  ·  Contains:  M 3  ·  NGC 5272
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M3, Bruce Donzanti
M3, Bruce Donzanti

M3

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M3, Bruce Donzanti
M3, Bruce Donzanti

M3

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Description

This was the first object discovered by Messier himself in 1764.  This cluster is one of the largest and brightest and is made up of around 500,000 stars.  It is estimated to be 11.4 billion years old.   It is centered at 32,600 light-years away from Earth.  However, he mistook it as a nebula without stars, being corrected by William Herschel.

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