M 11
OPEN STAR CLUSTER

Right Ascension:
18h 51m 6s

Best Seen:
7/15-11/1

Declination:
-6º 16' 00"

Magnitude:
6.3

Computer File:
m11

Constellation:
Scutum

Actual

Compared to

Distance

~ 6000 l.y.

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Actual Brightness

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Number of stars

~ 2,900

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Diameter

24 l.y.

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Age

~ 220 to 500 million years (most recent estimate 250 million years)

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Integrated Spectral Type

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WHAT TO LOOK FOR THROUGH THE TELESCOPE:

  1. Recommended eyepiece: 40mm or 80 mm.

  2. Through the telescope the cluster will appear as a group of individual stars.

M 11 INFORMATION:

  1. This cluster is also called the Wild Duck Cluster, apparently because it resembles a flight of wild ducks when viewed through a telescope.

  2. Most of the brightest main sequence stars are of spectral type A and F.

  3. It also has about 500 stars which are brighter than 14th magnitude.

  4. The average separation of the stars in the cluster is about 1 light year.

  5. All of the bright stars in this cluster are very luminous giants.

  6. The total brightness of the cluster is about 10,000 times the brightness of the sun.

  7. M11 was first discovered by Gottfried Kirch of the Berlin Observatory in 1681, and apparently was first resolved into stars by William Derham in 1733.

Item
Updated Notes

Coordinates 12-09-2002
OK with SIMBAD and http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m011.html

Magnitude
12-09-2002
OK with SIMBAD and http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m011.html

Distance
12-09-2002
SEDs site (see magnitude) gives 6,000, but an APOD site gives “over 3000 light years" at http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001022.html

Actual Brightness

Number of Stars 12-09-2002

05-17-2005
previously said “more than 870,” but could only find info at http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m011.html updated from SEDS

Diameter
12-09-2002 05-19-2005
16 ly difficult to find any info 24 ly number based on parallax calculation by Jason F with SEDS numbers: diameter of 14 arc.min and 6kly dist. Result is 7.36pc.

Age 05-17-2005
from http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m011.html

Integrated Spectral Type

Other Information
12-09-2002
Wild Duck name origin: http://www.astropix.com/HTML/D_SUM_S/M11.HTM Kirch and Derham info from SEDs site DIFFICULT to find ANY supporting info for the other items except #3 (SEDS site)