August 12, 2008

In Today's One Minute Astronomer...

M11 - The "Wild Duck" Star Cluster

Compact and rich, the “Wild Duck Cluster” is perhaps the finest open star cluster visible to backyard astronomers. One look at its dazzling stars set against an inky dark sky and you will have no doubt that life is worth living.

The Basics

• Set in a star-clogged section of the constellation Scutum, the Wild Duck cluster is easy to find… it’s just south and west of the tail of the constellation Aquila, the Eagle.

• You can see M11 in binoculars and smaller telescopes, but it’s surprisingly small and faint… almost like a loose globular cluster. A 4-inch or larger telescope will resolve the cluster into a tiny swarm of sparkling white stars.

• With an 8-inch or larger scope at 100-150x, you’ll see hundreds of tiny star points across the field of view… incredibly rich.

• British Admiral William Smyth imagined M11 as a V-shaped configuration of stars that reminded him of wild ducks flying in formation. Can you see this shape with your telescope?

M11- The Wild Duck Star Cluster

A Deeper Look

• M11 is a distant cluster, nearly 5,500 light-years away and roughly 300 million years old. Most of its 2000-3000 stars are luminous giants that shine much brighter than our sun. From Earth, the stars in M11 are 9th to 11th magnitude. If our Sun lived in M11, it would appear as a barely visible 16th magnitude star.

• Unlike many open star clusters, M11 has not yet been dispersed by passing stars and gas clouds because it’s massive enough to hold itself together through the mutual gravitational attraction of its constituent stars.

Good To Know

If you found yourself on a planet near the center of M11, you’d see a sky chock full of brilliant stars. More than 50 such stars would range from 3 to 50 times brighter than Sirius, the brightest star in our sky.

Personal View

I love this star cluster. After many attempts, I can finally see the V-shape that gave the cluster its name. Try zooming in on M11, starting with your lowest power eyepiece and progressing to highest power until it fills your field of view. Beautiful!

--- Highly Recommended ---

Delve deep into the cosmos with this visually realistic astronomy package. Starry Night Pro lets you determine which astronomical events are visible from your location. You can even track artificial satellites with your computerized telescope mount. Includes Starry Night software plus SkyTheater DVD and Starry Night Companion, and a 192-page illustrated astronomy book. Learn More...

-------------------------------