M18
Open cluster in Sagittarius

10.1″ f/4.5, Mallincam DS432cTEC with 0.5 focal reducer and Astronomik UHC filter
Exposure = 5 sec, Live Stacked frames = 50, Gain = 40.99 of 250

A very sparse cluster with maybe a couple or so dozen stars, M18 spans 26 light years and is approximately 4200 light years away. Seen here at the center of this image, M18 appears about 6-8 arcminutes across; the brighter 8th to 10th magnitude stars form a rough pentagon shape.

North at 1 o’clock, East at 10 o’clock