A dense globular star cluster shines brightly in deep space.

Designated M13 and known as the Great Star Cluster in Hercules. I think these globular clusters are some of the most beautiful objects in the night sky, and this is one of the best. They start off as some enormous molecular cloud that breaks up and forms new stars in a dense, compact gravitational sphere. That smudge in the lower left of the image is the spiral galaxy NGC 6207, and is actually 30-40 million light years away, much further than the Hercules cluster which is only 25,000 light years away.

Steve Busch