M11 open cluster in Scutum
author: R.Jay GaBany/Novapix
reference: a-aou67-05009
Image Size 300 DPI: 34 * 22 cm
The image is of a young cluster of stars located in the direction of the Scutum constellation. This tight gathering of stars, known as the Wild Duck Cluster or M11, features about 2,900 individual members- most of them are approximately 250 million years old- the newest stars appear white-blue, the older ones have a yellowed appearance. This group of stars hangs in space about 5,000 light-years from Earth. Behind the open cluster shines about 17,000 much more distant stars that represent a fraction of the sprawling star clouds lining the Milky Way's galactic plane. Four very bright stars are also visible in this picture- they are located between Earth and the star cluster. This picture, resulted when separate images, exposed during August 2007, were digitally combined to create a single image equivalent to slightly more than four hours of total duration. This picture was produced with a 20 inch Ritchey-Chretien telescope using an eleven mega-pixel camera located in Cloudcroft, New Mexico.