M11- The Wild Duck Cluster

[Ursa Major]

This is a sketch I did on GIMP while observing M11. I used one eye to sketch and one eye to observe so I didn’t spoil my night vision.

I tried to get it to look exactly as it did in the eyepiece.

Hope you enjoy.

Laurie.

[barkis]

A very nice depiction of M11 Laurie.

The Wild Duck Cluster in Scutum is the gem that lies within the vast star clouds of that constellation.

It was named named The Wild Duck by an Admiral Smythe, who likened it to a flight of wild ducks.

It's always been a favourite destination of mine during suitable observation times. A very rich area of the Milky Way.

Thanks for doing this, and posting for us to see.

Ron.

[Moonshane]

Lovely sketch (seems like an insult to call it such!).

This is certainly my favourite cluster too. Just takes my breath away at any magnification even in a 6" scope. Cannot wait to get my 16" sorted!

[DarkerSky]

That looks good Laurie. A nice rendition with that unmistakably brighter star near the head of the cluster. I hope to get a sketch of this beauty at some point over the summer too.

[Ursa Major]

That looks good Laurie. A nice rendition with that unmistakably brighter star near the head of the cluster. I hope to get a sketch of this beauty at some point over the summer too.

I look forward to seeing your sketch of it in the summer. It will be interesting to see how it looks in a bigger scope compared to mine.

M11 has a lot of different magnitude stars in it so I expect seeing it in even a small difference in aperture would make it look quite different.

[DarkerSky]

Yes, it'll be great fun to compare notes. I'll be sure to let you know when its on my radar

[RikM]

Nice one.