Hercules Globular Cluster (M13) Observation Details
M13 Daily Motion
Tonight, observing M13 may prove challenging owing to its low elevation. It will reach its transit at by 10:39 and set before sunset at 16:38. Rising near twilight's end at 04:36, it will fade away by 05:06, peaking at just 6° above the horizon.M13 will become visible in January, 19. After being too close to the Sun to observe, it will reappear in the night sky. Starting from January, 19, M13 can be seen again, providing a good opportunity for observation.
M13 Visibility Timetable on December 21
Rise and Set Timetable
| Time | Elevation | |
| M13 transit | 10:39 | 54° |
| M13 set | 16:38 | |
| Astrosession begin | 19:17 | -31° |
| Moon Rise, 59.2% illuminated | 23:21 | -52° |
| M13 rise | 04:36 | |
| Astrosession end | 04:39 | 1° |
| Civil sunrise | 05:32 | 11° |
| Sunrise | 05:56 | 16° |
| Moon Set | 11:41 | 50° |
Track M13 Position Throughout the Night
← Sat, 21 December 2024 →
| Time | |
| Altitude | |
| Azimuth |
M13 - Great Hercules Cluster
The Great Hercules Cluster (M13) is a globular cluster located in the constellation Hercules. It was discovered by Edmond Halley in 1714 and included in Messier's catalog in 1764. M13 is one of the most prominent and well-known globular clusters in the northern hemisphere.
M13 spans about 145 light-years across and contains several hundred thousand stars. The cluster is approximately 22,200 light-years away from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 5.8, making it visible to the naked eye under dark skies and easily seen with binoculars or a small telescope.
M13 Image Gallery
DSS Blue
DSS Red
DSS Near-Infrared
DSS Composite image
The photos are taken from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2), which was produced at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) under NASA contract, using data from the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), the European Southern Observatory (ESO), and the National Geographic Society-Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (POSS II).
Special thanks to the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, and the California Institute of Technology for their significant contributions.
Finder Chart for M13
| Object name | M13 |
| Field of view | |
| Limiting magnitude | |
| M13 coordinates | 16.6949, 36.46131 |
| Center coordinates | 16.6949, 36.46131 |
M13 Passage Through Night
Current position of M13
| Time | 16:22 |
| Latitude | 0 |
| Longitude | 0 |
| M13 elevation | 3° |
| M13 Azimuth | 53° |
Annual motion of M13
| Date | Sun, 22 December 2024 |
| Twighlight start | 19:14 |
| Twighlight end | 04:35 |
| Twighlight duration | 9h 21m |
| Rise | 04:36 |
| Set | 16:34 |
| Elevation at transit | 54° |
| Transit time | 10:35 |
| Equatorial coordinate | RA: 16h 41m 41s", Dec: 36° 27' 40s |
| Magnitude | 6 |
| Constellation | Hercules |
The graph is structured with the vertical axis showing the hours of the day, ranging from 12 AM to 12 AM the next day, while the horizontal axis spans each day of the year.
The reddish shaded area indicates the periods when the M13 is above the horizon, visible to observers. The white line marks the times when the celestial object reaches its highest point in the sky each day, known as the transit.
Data Credits
The nebulae information on this page is sourced from the OpenNGC project, developed by Matteo Verga. OpenNGC provides detailed data on the NGC catalog, which is a valuable resource for exploring deep-sky objects such as nebulae.
For more details or to contribute to OpenNGC, visit the official GitHub repository: OpenNGC on GitHub.