980221: M3 in a 5 minute exposure at -15°C. SBIG ST-8 in hi-res (9µ pixel) mode with Celestron C14 at f7. Image was resized to 800 pixels wide from 1530 wide. No processing beyond dark frame and flat field. North is to the right.
 
 

M3: From the same original as above, but equalization (via Skypro) has been applied to bring out faint detail. The background level was then adjusted to just erase most of the noise. For me, this image was a good example of simple digital processing techniques. I feel that the second image more closely resembles what I saw through the telescope eyepiece. Note the spots adjacent above and below some of the brightest stars. This is the result of a guiding error. I don't know what caused it.