10.1" reflector   96 x
The M24 Starcloud measures approximately 2 degrees across and is obvious to the naked eye on clear summer evenings. It appears as an oblong cloud running NE-SW along the Milky Way. Due to the size, it does not fit into the field-of-view of any of my eyepieces, but provides a rich stellar background for telescopes pointed in that direction. NGC 6603 (center of sketch) is a small condensed open cluster, about 3' across, that looks a little like a loose globular with diffuse core. The brighter star immediately above the cluster is TYC 6269-2757-1, 170 light-years away shining at magnitude 7.39.