M3 is a Shapley-Sawyer Class VI globular cluster lying at a distance of 33,920 light-years from Earth. The interesting feature in M3 is a meandering dark line crossing the entire cluster. This line gives the globular cluster an appearance resembling a cracked egg. That globular clusters contain dark obscuring nebular material has been known since the early 1960s.

Exposures: L:R:G:B = 170:65:65:65 minutes = 6 hours, 5 minutes total exposure at f/6.8.