M71 = NGC6838 ( 19h 53.8m +18°47´, 8.3 mag. )


This loose globular cluster in Sagitta was discovered by Koehler in 1775 or possibly by de Cheseaux in 1746. Mechain noticed it on June 28, 1780 and Messier observed it on October 4, 1780. Located only 13,000 ly away, this metal-rich globular cluster measures just 30 ly across. Among its red supergiants is a semiregular long-period variable Z Sagittae (13.5 - 15.7 mag.). To find M71, point your binoculars or a telescope halfway between g Sagittae and d Sagittae (see finder chart below).

The above image was taken on September 15, 1998 from Sooke, BC. Cookbook 245 LDC CCD camera was used on Ultima 8 f6.3 telescope autoguided with Cookbook 211 LDC CCD camera on a piggybacked 500mm f8 telephoto lens. It is composed of white exposures (8 x 4 min.) as well as cyan, magenta and yellow-filtered integrations (3 x 4 min. each) combined with AIP4WIN. Resulting color image was then further adjusted in Lab color space using Corel PhotoPaint 8.

North is to the right.


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


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© Jan Wisniewski