Name Todd D. Vance Bowie, MD	Seeing (1-10) 4	Site Home: N3854'51'' W7644'5''
Date / Time 4/18/06 22:22—22:35 EDT	Transparency(1-5) 3.5	Object Name M13
Instrument 9x63 5.8 FOV binoculars	Power 9X	Constellation Hercules
3626.478' 16h 41.901m	(from Starry Night)

M13 appears to be a hazy patch in Hercules, 1 sky arc minute in diameter.  Moon has not risen, so that made it easier to spot.  By defocussing the binoculars a little, I made other stars in the field the same size as M13, and picked one of similar brightness (circled).  The star I picked turned out to be HIP81911 of magnitude 6.0.  To check my estimate, M13's "official" magnitude is 7.0 (all magnitudes and other info from Starry Night Pro 5.8.2).  It is easy to find again and again--find Hercules, find the "keystone" of Hercules.  The top (roughtly NW) two stars are on each side of M13.  M13 is collinear with them, about 1/3 of the way from the left one to the right one.  Then, in binoculars, I find a triangle about the size of a full moon, maybe a little smaller.  Two stars are HIP81848 (mag. 6.84) and HIP81673 (mag. 7.28)--M13 is at the obtuse (about 100 degrees) angle; it is almost isosceles.  They disappeared when I defocussed, so I took them to be less bright than M13. 
M13 appeared to be a white fuzzy patch with a noticeably bright center.  None of its stars could be resolved. The faint “star”  just ESE  (diagonal down right) of M13 doesn't seem to exist—I must have imagined it.