Just below the northern edge of the Scutum Star cloud lies M11, one of the brightest galactic star clusters in the sky.
M11 contains about 900 stars and lies at a distance of about 5500 light years. An observer living on a planet near the center of the cluster would be able to see several hundred stars of the first magnitude in contrast to just several from Earth's location.
Even in small telescopes, it is a dramitic sight. It is a swarm of easily resolved stars dominated by a red giant, several magnitudes brighter, right in the center.
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Galactic clusters are distinguished from the globulars by their location in or near the galactic plane as opposed to populating the spherical halo surrounding the galaxy. They also contain far fewer stars and are more loosly structured.
This image was a 30 second exposure with the MX7C through the 16" telescope and replaces the monochrome image in the Index.
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