Wild Duck Cluster (M11)
A rich and compact open cluster in Scutum, visible with binoculars and stunning in a telescope.
Open cluster in Scutum. Magnitude 6.3.
Can you see it from Guyana?
From Georgetown (6.8° N) it climbs to 77° above the southern horizon at its highest; from Lethem (3.4° N), to 80° above the southern horizon. It is highest at midnight on the night of 2 Jul, in the middle of its season. The page works out tonight's rise, highest point and set for both towns in Guyana time (UTC-4), and where the Moon is.
What you'll see
- Your eyes: Not visible to the eye.
- 10x50 binoculars: Resolves into dozens of stars.
- A small telescope (80 to 100 mm): Dozens to hundreds of stars at low power.
- A camera: Spans about 40% of an APS-C frame at 2,000 mm (field 0.7° × 0.4°); needs a tracking mount.
How big, how bright, how far
- Size on the sky: 14′, 45% of the Moon's width (the Moon is about 31′ wide).
- Brightness: magnitude 6.3. Fainter than the faintest stars in Georgetown (4.3) and Lethem (6.0): binoculars or a telescope.
- Distance: 6,200 light-years. The light reaching your eye left it about 6,200 years ago.
What it is made of
- Type
- Open Cluster
- Distance
- Approx. 6,200 Lightyears
- True size
- Approx. 20 Lightyears diameter
- Stars (Thousands): One of the richest and most compact open clusters
- Yellow/Red Giants: Prominent evolved stars
More deep-sky objects: Eagle Nebula (M16) · M25 (Open Cluster IC 4725) · Globular Cluster M22 · M55 (Globular Cluster) · Butterfly Cluster (M6) · Ptolemy Cluster (M7)