Open cluster in Scutum
This is one of the richest open clusters in the sky. An early astronomer, Smyth, likened its appearance to a flock of wild ducks in flight. Through binoculars or a small telescope, it does have a wedge-shaped appearance, but with larger telescopes (and in this photograph) the center of the cluster gets filled with dimmer stars and the wedge is not very obvious anymore. Messier 11 is located on the edge of the Scutum Star Cloud, a very dense section of the Milky Way, and the density of the background stars can be seen in this photo.
| Magnitude | 5.8 |
| Apparent Size | 14' |
| Distance (light yrs) | 5,500 |
| Right Ascension | 18:51.1 |
| Declination | -6 16 |
Image details: 15 images, each 90 seconds at ISO 800,
taken with a Canon 400D camera through a Meade
12” telescope at f/10.
July 2008