M11
Wild Duck Cluster in Scutum

10.1″ f/4.5, Mallincam DS432cTEC with Astronomik UHC filter
Exposure = 5 sec, Live Stacked frames = 20, Gain = 41 of 250

M11 is an unusually rich and dense open cluster containing what appears to be hundreds of stars within about a 15 arcminute space, so dense that it almost looks like a loose globular cluster (see M4 for example for comparison). The stars have a pale white colour, with one bright star leading the V-shape that points down and to the left (the “duck pack”). M11 is 95 light years across and 6,120 light years away.

North at 11 o’clock, East at 8 o’clock