Can We See Globular Cluster?

Many of the night sky's biggest and brightest globular clusters are best viewed on spring nights and often feature in so-called “Messier Marathons.” Globular clusters are a wonderful sight in even the smallest telescopes, although a large instrument is needed to resolve individual stars toward their centers.

Can you see globular clusters with the naked eye?

Open clusters are found in the disk of the Galaxy, and therefore lie largely in the plane of the Milky Way. Many of the closer ones, including those presented here, are easily visible to the naked eye (Messier 35 a fainter exception).

How do you observe globular clusters?

Summer nights are the best time to start hunting for globular clusters, almost one third of them are to be found in the summer constellation of Sagittarius. When observing try to use high magnifications, for most clusters this gives the best views, making stars visible even close to the center.