Wild Duck Cluster (M11, NGC 6705)

One of the richest and most compact known open clusters, with an estimated 2,900 stars, about 500 of which are brighter than magnitude 14. A planet at the center of M11 would have a remarkable night sky filled with several hundred first magnitude stars. The Wild Duck Cluster lies in the constellation Scutum. It was discovered in 1681 by the German astronomer Gottfried Kirch of the Berlin Observatory and is believed to be about 250 million years old.

visual magnitude	6.3
apparent diameter	14'
distance	6,000 light-years (1,800 pc)
position	R.A. 18h 51.1m, Dec. -06° 16'

Related categories

• NEBULAE AND STAR CLUSTERS
• MESSIER CATALOGUE

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