Messier 5 (Hercules Cluster)

Messier 5, also known as the Hercules Cluster, is a large, bright collection of stars called a globular cluster, located about 24,500 light-years away in the constellation Hercules. It contains hundreds of thousands of stars densely packed together, mostly old and metal-poor, which provides insight into the early universe. The cluster appears as a fuzzy, glowing sphere through a telescope. Its tight stellar population and spherical shape make it a valuable object for astronomers studying stellar evolution and the history of our galaxy. Messier 5 is one of the oldest and most massive globular clusters visible from Earth.