What is the Globular Cluster Visual Catalog
Born from a passion for astronomy, the GCVC offers practitioners a space dedicated to observing and photographing globular clusters. The project is founded on the values of sharing, precision, and accessibility, with the goal of supporting the community of globular cluster enthusiasts and researchers and making it easier for them to visualize and photograph these objects. This is an open, educational, no profit initiative. Everybody can contribute with images of globular clusters.
Solid Scientific Basis for the Project
The list of the globular clusters is based on the work of William E. Harris “Harris 1996 (2010 edition)” and the original paper which briefly describes the setup of the catalog “Harris, W.E. 1996, AJ, 112, 1487”. Thanks to my friend and pro astronomer Gisella Clementini who pointed me to the right source of information.
The Structure of the Catalog
The structure of the catalog is very simple: the first section contains the list of the globular cluster with their main data: RA, DEC, Mag, Diameter, Constellation where they are in, plus the direct link to access each cluster. The second section contains a summary of the globular cluster images with the thumbnails of all the imaged ones. The third section is made by the pages of the globular cluster images. Each globular cluster has its own page with the image and a brief description.
Are you interested in contributing to the GCVC?
Most of the globular clusters are better visible from the southern hemisphere and I am based out of Italy, Europe, northern hemisphere. If you have images of the missing globular clusters and want to contribute to fill the GCVC please send a mail to contribute@gcvc.cloud with the image and the acquisition data.
Aldo Zanetti
Amateur Astronomer