M5, NGC 5904

M5 is perhaps the most spectacular globular cluster visible from the northern hemisphere, and can even be seen under excellent conditions with the naked eye, in the constellation Serpens. It is elongated, one of the largest and one of the oldest clusters (maybe 13 billion years), and at a distance of almost 25000 light-years from us. This approximately true-color picture was created from fourteen images taken in June and July 1997 using BVR colors, at the Burrell Schmidt telescope of Case Western Reserve University's Warner and Swasey Observatory located on Kitt Peak, near Tucson, Arizona, during the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program operated at the Kitt Peak National Observatory and supported by the National Science Foundation. Image size 34.6 arc minutes.