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Messier 11 is an open cluster located in the constellation Scutum and estimated to be about 220 million years old. The nickname “Wild Duck” seems to have originated in the fact that the brightest stars seem to be distributed on a “V”-shaped triangle, like the flocks of ducks. This open cluster is the most distant in the Messier catalog, 6,200 light years, and one of the most populated known, with over 2,900 stars in it. Messier 11 is seen against the Scutum Cloud, a bright patch of stars in the Milky Way.
Additional Information
Object
Name(s): Messier 11. NGC 6705. The Wild Duck Cluster
Type: Open Cluster
RA: 18h 51m 04s
Dec: -06º 15’ 56”
Constellation: Scutum
Size (arcmin): 14×14 arcmin
Magnitude: +6.3
Distance: 6,200 ly
Image
Date: 2021-06-13
Location: iTelescope.net, SSO near Coonabarabran, NSW Australia
Size (arcmin): 38×35 arcmin
Telescope: 17” f/6.8 Reflector
Camera: FLI PL 16803 (4096x4096pix)
Guiding: Astrodon MonsterMOAG off-axis guider
Total exposure: 2h 15m (RGB: 2h 15m)
Processing: CCDStack, Photoshop CC 2021