Wild Duck Cluster
Where is the Wild Duck Cluster?
Look southwest, about 29° up at 20:20 in Scutum. It sinks lower through the evening and sets at 00:26.
- Rises
- 13:24
- Highest
- 18:55
- Sets
- 00:26
- Best after dark
- 20:20 · 29°
Can I see the Wild Duck Cluster tonight?
From London tonight, the Wild Duck Cluster is above the horizon after dark. It’s highest soon after dark, around 20:20, in the southwest at 29°.
At magnitude 5.8, with its light spread out, it needs binoculars and a dark sky.
This is position and timing only: clouds, haze and light pollution aren’t included.
What does the Wild Duck Cluster look like?
Eyes
Under dark skies, a faint brightening in the Milky Way.
Binoculars
A small, bright, fuzzy glow standing out from the star field.
Telescope
A dense, triangular swarm of stars with a bright star near the point, impressive at medium power.
About the Wild Duck Cluster
M11, the Wild Duck Cluster, is one of the richest and most compact open clusters, with nearly 3,000 stars packed together about 6,000 light-years away.
Its name comes from the V-shaped pattern of its brightest stars, said to resemble a flock of ducks in flight.
It lies in a bright patch of the Milky Way in Scutum, the Shield.
M11 was discovered by Gottfried Kirch in 1681. It is a few hundred million years old, and the name Wild Duck Cluster comes from the 19th-century observer William Henry Smyth.
Scutum, its constellation, was introduced by Johannes Hevelius in the 17th century in honor of the Polish king Jan III Sobieski. The Scutum Star Cloud around M11 is one of the brightest parts of the Milky Way.
Because the cluster is so compact, it takes higher magnification than most open clusters to show at its best.
Nearby in the sky
Questions
Why is it called the Wild Duck Cluster?
Sources: SkyMate; OpenNGC (CC BY-SA 4.0); star chart: Wikidata (CC0). Positions computed for your place and time with astronomy-engine. Data & Licences