This interesting object returns to our evening skies each winter time. NGC 2261 - Hubble's Variable Nebula in Monoceros M3 is a rich globular cluster located in the constellation of Canes Venatici. Although 45,000 light years away, you can get a fine sight of it in a small telescope. Through binoculars it looks like a hazy star. Looking at M3 it is obvious why globular clusters are so named.
Globular clusters contain thousands of stars and sometimes hundreds of thousands of stars.
Over a hundred are known in our galaxy and they are distributed in a giant spherical halo surrounding the central bulge of the galaxy. Despite appearances the stars are far from touching one another - it is just that the star images are spread out on photographs. Here the skies must be truly spectacular, with the closest stars outshining the planet Venus, and 1000 other stars brighter than even Sirius. Globular Cluster M3 in Canes Venatici M3 is one of the finest globular clusters in the sky but to view the finest and brightest globular cluster in northern skies, seek out M13 in the constellation of Hercules. M13 can be seen by the naked eye from a good dark sky site and is obvious in binoculars.