M11 = NGC6705 ( 18h 51.1m -6°16, 5.8 mag.´)

Wild Duck open star cluster in Scutum was discovered in 1681 by Kirch and Messier observed it on May 30, 1764. About 5,500 ly distant, it contains probably more than 870 stars. M11 is visible in binoculars about 1°45' SE of b Scuti (see finder chart below). In a telescope it is transformed into a cloud of sparkling stardust!

The above image was taken on July 19, 1998 from Sooke, BC. Cookbook 245 LDC CCD camera was used on Celestron Ultima 8 f6.3 telescope autoguided with Cookbook 211 LDC CCD camera on piggybacked 500mm f8 telephoto lens. It is composed of white (6 x 1 min.) as well as cyan, magenta and yellow-filtered integrations (5 x 1 min., 4 x 1 min. and 4 x 1 min., respectively) processed with AIP4WIN and adjusted in Lab color space using Corel PhotoPaint 8.

North is to the right.

Map created in Guide 7.0 - 7°45' x 10°. North is up.

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© Jan Wisniewski