Wild Duck Cluster M 11

This is another photo I took last nite:

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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.

Eagle Nebula

Well here's tonights projects. I was finally able to get dark and clear enough skys to get these photos.

SkyWatcher 10" reflector on EQ5 pro mount, Meade DSI IIc camera 20 images @ 15 secs per. Minor color corrections and sharpening with Photoshop elements.







The Eagle Nebula (catalogued as Messier 16 or M16, and as NGC 6611) is a young open cluster of stars in the constellation Serpens, discovered by Jean-Philippe de Cheseaux in 1745-46. Its name derives from its shape which is resemblant of an eagle. It is the subject of a famous photograph by the Hubble Space Telescope, which shows pillars of star-forming gas and dust within the nebula.

Local Fires

Sorry for the lack of posts in the last few days. The fires in and around Los Angeles have been keeping our sky's filled with a light coating of smoke. Just enough to keep our light polluted sky filtered where I haven't attempted to set up the telescope. Planning on this weekend sometime.

Mt Wilson observatory has been threatened by the fires but so far the firefighters have been able to keep it safe. This actually sound pretty good as of this morning. If the winds stay away and the humidity stays up it may make it through this.