CarlosEH
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/19/05
Posts: 3082
Loc: Pembroke Pines, Broward County...
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I was able to observe one of my favorite open clusters M11 (NGC 6705) in Scutum on August 9, 2008 (5:00 U.T.). This magnificent open cluster appears as an explosion of jewels in space. This spectacular collection of stars has an estimated 2,900 members of which 500 are brighter than 14th magnitude. It lies at an estimated distance of between 220 to 250 million light years. I made the observation using my 9-inch (23-cm) F/13.5 Maksutov-Cassegrain at 78x.
A digital image made using Photoshop CS3.
Links;
http://www.hawastsoc.org/deepsky/sct/index.html
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap030122.html
http://www.maa.clell.de/Messier/E/m011.html
Carlos
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frank5817
Post Laureate
Reged: 06/13/06
Posts: 3007
Loc: Illinois
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Carlos,
What can I say other than you sketched it like it is your favorite and you wanted us all to see it and appreciate it the way you do. Wonderful work.   
Frank 
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xfile101
professor emeritus
Reged: 12/08/07
Posts: 738
Loc: Ocean Gate, NJ
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Extemely beautiful sketch! This is my absolute favorite OC, I really think it should be classified as a glob though but in any event, this is exactly what it looks like to me. 
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Orion XT8I
Celestron 114EQ Firstscope
Meade 70mm
Astroscan
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Achernar
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/25/06
Posts: 3690
Loc: Alabama, USA
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When it comes to how many stars are packed into a cubic parsec, M-11 isn't far behind many of the looser, dwarf globular clusters that belong to our galaxy. The kicker is the cluster's age and chemical composition definitively show that it's an open cluster, but a very massive and dense one. Carlos, your drawing's very nice and detailed. The field where M-11 resides is pretty hard to draw because of all those stars.
Taras
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10-inch F/4.5 Discovery Dob
6-inch F/8 Homebuilt Dob
4 1/4-inch F/4 Homebuilt reflector
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CarlosEH
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/19/05
Posts: 3082
Loc: Pembroke Pines, Broward County...
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Frank, Frank, and Taras
Thank you all for the kind compliments on my M11 observation. It is always a treat to observe M11, but as Taras points out is not easy to render due to the shear number of stars in the field. This is a very dense open cluster and placed within the Milky Way makes it even denser. I look forward to your future observations.
Carlos
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Tommy5
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 03/28/04
Posts: 1382
Loc: Chicagoland
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Wow fantastic sketch of one of my favorite sky objects,some folks observe some nebula action within this cluster like a sunburst pattern, did you see anything like that? bravo!
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CarlosEH
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/19/05
Posts: 3082
Loc: Pembroke Pines, Broward County...
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Tommy,
Thank you for the compliment on my observation of M11. I always enjoy looking at this open cluster. The "nebular" aspect of this cluster may be due to the density of the cluster which, under the right seeing conditions, may give the appearance of a haziness or "nebula" over the cluster? I have not noted a nebular appearance of the cluster. The best of luck in your own observations.
Carlos
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WadeVC
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/02/05
Posts: 2781
Loc: Lodi, California,
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Carlos,
Another excellent rendering of another of my favorite (and my wifes very favorite) OC. You captured the beauty and complexity of this extremely rich OC perfectly.
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Orion XTi10 f/4.7
Orion XTi8 f/5.9
Meade NGC 70mm f/10
Orion UltraView 10x50 Wide-Angle Binoculars
My Sketch Gallery
My Astronomy Blog
A wise man can see more from the bottom of a well than a fool can from a mountain top.
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Mattias
member
Reged: 08/22/07
Posts: 95
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A very nice sketch, including the dark patches among all the stars!
In my first telescope I saw a V shaped haze and a brilliant star but in my new 12" it has a completely different appearance, similar to the sketch shown above.
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Tommy5
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 03/28/04
Posts: 1382
Loc: Chicagoland
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I agree, i was looking at m-11 last night through very transparent skies for this area and at low powers 56x, the cluster had a mottled appearence in some places, at 220x however, the cluster resolved into a myrid of stars flooding the eyepiece.Very accurate sketch, i like the bright star in the middle, it makes focusing so much easier for this dso.
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rodelaet
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/28/06
Posts: 2632
Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium)
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Carlos,
A glorious sketch of a daunting cluster!!
Excellent work.
I find M11 intimidating in even a 4" scope, let alone your aperture.
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Rony
My Astronomy Sketches
My Binocular Sketches
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CarlosEH
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/19/05
Posts: 3082
Loc: Pembroke Pines, Broward County...
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Rony,
Thank you for the kind compliment on my favorite open cluster. I never tire of observing and rendering this jewel in the sky. It was not easy rendering it but well worth the effort. I look forward to your wonderful observations.
Carlos
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