On May 7th, 2025, I captured four of the most iconic star clusters visible in the night sky from El Camino College. These include three ancient globular clusters—M3, M5, and M13—and the much closer open cluster, M44 (also known as the Beehive Cluster). Each object tells a different story about the formation and structure of our Milky Way galaxy.
2025 年 5 月 7 日，我從埃爾卡米諾學院拍攝到了夜空中可見的四個最具標誌性的星星星團。其中包括三個古老的球狀星團–M3、M5 和 M13–以及距離更近的疏散星團 M44（也被稱為蜂巢星團）。每個物體都講述了關於我們銀河系的形成和結構的不同故事。
📷 Cluster Comparison Image
群集比較圖像
From the densely packed, spherical cores of globular clusters to the open, scattered stars of M44, these captures highlight the diversity of deep-sky objects.
從球狀星團密集的球形核心到 M44 的疏散恆星，這些照片突出了深空天體的多樣性。
🧭 Cluster Properties 集群屬性
| Cluster 集群 | Type 類型 | Distance (light-years) 距離（光年） | Apparent Magnitude 視星等 | RA / Dec RA /12 月 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M3 | Globular 球狀 | ~33,900 | 6.2 | 13h 42m / +28° 13小時42米/ +28° |
| M5 | Globular 球狀 | ~24,500 | 5.7 | 15h 18m / +02° 15小時18米/ +02° |
| M13 | Globular 球狀 | ~22,200 | 5.8 | 16h 41m / +36° 16 小時 41 m/ +36° |
| M44 (Beehive) M44（蜂巢） | Open 開放 | ~577 | 3.7 | 8h 40m / +19° 8小時40米/ +19° |
✨ Closing Thoughts 關閉的想法
It’s remarkable to witness such celestial diversity in a single observing session. M3, M5, and M13 show the beauty of ancient star systems gravitationally bound over billions of years, while M44 sparkles with youthful energy much closer to home. All four serve as a reminder of the vast timeline and structure of our galaxy.
在一次觀測中目睹如此多樣的天體是非常了不起的。M3、M5 和 M13 展示了數十億年來被引力束縛的古老星星系統的美麗，而 M44 則在離家更近的地方閃耀著年輕的能量。所有這四個都提醒著我們銀河系廣闊的時間軸和結構。
All images were captured using a telescope at El Camino College, and post-processed to remove color cast and enhance contrast for educational comparison.
所有的圖像都是用埃爾卡米諾學院的望遠鏡拍攝的，並進行了後處理，以消除偏色和增強對比度，用於教育比較。