Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Globular Cluster M3

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for December 6, 1996 is “Globular Cluster M3,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Globular Cluster M3 Credit and Copyright: P. Challis (CfA), 1.2-m Telescope, Whipple Observatory). The original explanation runs about 102 words.

Globular Cluster M3
Credit: Globular Cluster M3 Credit and Copyright: P. Challis (CfA), 1.2-m Telescope, Whipple Observatory Copyrighted Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Explanation : This huge ball of stars predates our Sun. Long before mankind evolved, before dinosaurs roamed , and even before our Earth existed, ancient globs of stars condensed and orbited a young Milky Way Galaxy .”

— APOD editors, December 6, 1996

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
December 6, 1996
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Globular Cluster M3 Credit and Copyright: P. Challis (CfA), 1.2-m Telescope, Whipple Observatory
Copyright
Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 102 words

All of December 1996 → · 1996 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

The SunThe Milky WayGalaxiesStar clusters

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: December 6 in other years

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.