M11, The Wild Duck Cluster (NGC 6705), Scutum. RA 18:51 1, DEC -06:16
This galactic jewel is M11 The Wild Duck Cluster, it is an open cluster in Scutum, but a quite compact one containing nearly 3,000 stars. It is named because the brightest stars resemble ducks flying in formation. M11 is at magnitude 6.3
M11 The Wild Duck Cluster
M12 (NGC 6218), Ophiuchus. RA 16:47 14, DEC -01:56 52
M12 is a globular cluster 16,000 light years away, and 75 light years across. This one is kind of inbetween an open cluster and a globular, but it’s classed as a globular, although quite a loose one. This cluster contains a very small number of low mass stars, astronomers think these have been ripped from M12 by the gravity of the Milky Way. This Messier object has a magnitude of 7.7 and is only 3 degrees from another cluster M10.
Globular cluster M12
M13 (MGC 6205), The Great Hercules Cluster. RA 16:41 7, DEC 36:28
The Hercules Cluster is a fantastic sight on a clear dark night, and must be the best globular in the northern hemisphere. It has over a million stars in it and is just 145 light years across, so it’s pretty dense. It is located along the right hand side of the “keystone” in the centre of the constellation Hercules. In very dark skies M13 can even be seen with the naked eye. Once you get used to knowing where it is, it is very easy to locate. In 1974 a message was sent from Earth to the Hercules Cluster as it was thought it might be a likely candidate to the existance of intelligent civilisations. M13 is at magnitude 5.8
The Hercules Cluster M13
M14 (NGC 6402), Ophiuchus. RA 17:37 6, DEC -03:15
M14 is a globular cluster at a distance of 30,000 light years from Earth, and 100 light years across. It contains hundreds of thousands of stars, it can be seen as a fuzzy spot in binoculars but medium to larger telescopes will resolve its shape. In 1938 a nova appeared in M14 but was not spotted on photos till 1964. A nova is a cataclysmic explosion involving a white dwarf star accreting hydrogen from a larger neighbour star. M14 is at magnitude 8.3
Globular cluster M14
M15 (NGC 7078), Pegasus. RA 21:30, DEC 12:10
M15 is another globular cluster and lies 33,600 light years away. This cluster is probably the densest in the Milky Way and has a super dense core that even larger telescopes cannot see individual stars. The Hubble Space Telescope has investigated this cluster to find out why its stars are packed in so tight. M15 has undergone “core collapse” , the radius of the core is small compared to the size of the overall cluster. Evidence suggests the stars are crowding around a single massive object in the centre. M15 is at magnitude 6.2
Globular cluster M15
M16, The Eagle Nebula (NGC 6611), Serpens. RA 18:18 8, DEC -13:47
M16 The eagle Nebua is a vast cloud of interstellar gas and dust 7,000 light years away. NGC 6611 is actually the star cluster associated with the gas cloud, IC 4703 is the nebula. The cluster NGC 6611 is only 5.5 million years old, having originally been born from the Eagle Nebula. The nebula lights up from the hot and massive stars it has given birth to, and active star formation is still going on in the gas cloud. M16 and the Eagle Nebula show up best with low power, a 4 inch telescope revealing around 20 stars and faint nebulosity. Larger telecopes may pick out shape and darker areas to the nebula. M16 and IC 4703 are at magnitude 6.4
M16 The Eagle Nebula
M17, The Omega Nebula (NGC 6618), Sagittarius. RA 18:20 26, DEC -16:10 36
M17 The Omega Nebula or Swan Nebula is a H II region in Sagittarius. A H II region is a cloud of low density gas and plasma that contains star formation. The Omega Nebula is between 5,000 and 6,000 light years from Earth, and 15 light years across. The whole area that contains the Omega Nebula is 40 light years across. Stars have been and are being born in this star factory, and these stars light up the nebula and sculpt it into weird shapes with their stellar winds and luminosity. M17 is at magnitude 6.0 and is an area of dense star fields towards the Galaxy’s centre.
M17 The Omega Nebula
M18 (NGC 6613), Sagittarius. RA 18:19 9, DEC -17:08
M18 is an open cluster 4,900 light years away, a fairly loose cluster of about 15 stars, and young at only 32 million years. It is best seen in smaller telescopes and is just above M17 in Sagittarius. This cluster has a magnitude of 7.5
Open cluster M18
M19 (NGC 6273), Ophiuchus. RA 17:02 37, DEC -26:16 04
M19 is a globular cluster 28,000 light years away, and travelling away from us at 146 km/sec. M19 is the most oblate globular known meaning it’s a flattened sphere, this could be because of its closeness to the Galaxy’s centre at just 5,200 light years away, our Galaxy’s gravity pulling it out of shape. M19 is quite a rich cluster and in telescope appears as a small glow with its shape fairly easy to spot. This globular is at magnitude 6.8
Globular cluster M19
M20, The Trifid Nebula (NGC 6514), Sagittarius. RA 18:02 6, DEC -23:02
The Trifid Nebula is a deep sky object that contains an open star cluster, dark nebula, emission nebula, and reflection nebula. The word “trifid” means divided into three, and the lines of dark nebula does this. It is a star nursery and was studied by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1997, a stellar jet was found coming out of the top of the nebula less than 1 light year long. This jet was exhaust gases from star birth. M20 is quite close to the Lagoon Nebula and they look great as a pair in astrophotographs. M20 is well loved by astronomers, it is quite bright and colour can be seen. It is at magnitude 6.3
M20 The Trifid Nebula
