M53 Globular Star Cluster

M53 is one of the more distant globulars in our galaxy. It is way out there, approximately 60,000 light years from the galactic center of the Milky Way and about 58,000 light years from our solar system. It lies in the direction of the constellation Coma Berenices. At its distance from the Emerald Coast, it is rather small and indistinct when viewed in a small telescope. It is difficult to resolve into stars with telescopes less than 6 to 8 inches in aperture. Larger telescopes with apertures of 10 to 12 inches are able to well resolve the cluster visually and it shows up with a moderately concentrated core and the outlying fringe stars spread over an area of approximately 12 arc minutes. With the advent of modern CCD cameras such as the SBIG ST-10XME, which produced this image, amateurs can now image the cluster and view this beautiful stellar swarm with clarity formally available only with the aid of professional equipment found in high tech observatories.