| M11 is one
of the densest open clusters known. It can be mistaken for a globular
cluster. If we were located at its center, we would see hundreds of
magnitude one stars (the brightness of Sirius). It was discovered
by Gottfried Kirch in 1681 and Charles Messier added it to his catalog
in 1764. M11 is commonly known as the Wild Duck Cluster because the
v-shape of some of its stars resemble ducks flying in formation. |
| |
|
| Telescope: |
Orion 10
in. f/4.7 Newtonian |
| Camera: |
Modified Canon T4i (650D); ISO
- 800; Raw capture |
| Mount: |
Losmandy G-11; guided with Orion SSAG on a
Lumicon 50 mm finder scope |
| Exposures: |
20 @ 3 min. |
| Processing: |
Images were focused using
the camera's live view function. The subframes were converted to tiff
files using Canon's Digital Photo Professional software. They were
aligned and combined in ImagesPlus. Final adjustments (Curves, slight
cropping) were done in Photoshop. |
| Note: |
Taken from
my backyard observatory in southeastern Minnesota on 8/19/11. Temp:
50 F |
| |
|
| Back to Index |
|
