M11 - Wild Duck Cluster
Location: Warrumbungle Observatory, Australia (149 11 E, 31 16 S)
Date: 3 to 5 August 2013
Camera: QHY-9 and QHY filters
Telescope: William Optics M120
Frames: Twelve 10 minute luminance frames and twelve 300 second exposures for each of
RGB.
Processing: Stacked in CCDStack, balanced, curves, highlights, sharpened and increased
colour in Photoshop SC5.
Note: The Wild Duck Cluster (also known as Messier 11, or NGC 6705) is an open cluster in the
constellation Scutum. It was discovered by Gottfried Kirch in 1681. Charles Messier included it in his catalogue in
1764.
The Wild Duck Cluster is one of the richest and most compact of the known open clusters,
containing about 2900 stars. Its age has been estimated to about 220 million years. Its name derives from the
brighter stars forming a triangle which could represent a flying flock of ducks.
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