m11

Messier 11 (M11), commonly known as the Wild Duck Cluster, is a rich open star cluster in the Milky Way. It is located in the southern constellation Scutum near the plane of the galaxy and is one of the densest open clusters visible in the night sky. The cluster contains thousands of stars bound by gravity and appears as an elongated group when viewed through small telescopes or binoculars.

Distance, size, and age estimates place M11 at roughly 5,000–7,000 light-years from Earth. Its apparent diameter is about 25 arcminutes, corresponding to a physical size on the order of tens of light-years. The cluster’s age is estimated to be around 200–250 million years, placing it between very young and older open clusters in terms of stellar evolution.

Observationally, M11 has an apparent magnitude near the limit of naked-eye visibility under very dark skies, but it is more readily seen with binoculars or a small telescope. It is best observed from the Northern Hemisphere during the southern summer months, when Scutum is prominent in the evening sky.

By name, the Wild Duck designation comes from the visual impression of the cluster’s dense star grouping in small telescopes, which some observers likened to a flock of wild ducks. As a relatively nearby, populous open cluster, M11 remains a useful object for studies of stellar evolution, cluster dynamics, and the structure of the Milky Way’s disk.