M-5 (NGC-5904) is a globular star cluster located in the constellation of Serpens. It was discovered by Gottfried Kirch in 1707, and was cataloged by Charles Messier in 1764 as number 5. It is located just 1/3 of a degree NW of the star 5 serpentis (which appears in this image). M-5 lies at a distance of 24,000 light years from Earth and is 160 light years in diameter. It contains nearly 500,000 stars. It is also one of the oldest globular clusters know, being over 13 billion years old.
This image, acquired on July 31, 2013, is a 30 minute integration of 1 minute exposures through the Celestron C-11 at f/2, using the HyperStar III imaging system and the Starlight Express SXVR-H694C color CCD camera, operating at -10 degrees below ambient temperature and binned 1 X 1. Guided, captured and combined using Maxim DL5 Pro. Post processed using PhotoShop CS2, Gradient XTerminator, StarShrink, Carboni's Astro Tools and NoiseWare.