M11 is a dandy little OC – definitely one of my favorites. Around here, it gets about 50 degrees above the horizon, so its one of the finer Southern Summer DSO’s for us on this side of the equator.
My general appreciation for this one is that it almost appears like a combination of a GC and an OC. Even with a 10” scope, it still has that “misty” feel that many of the fainter Globs do, but much larger than most Globs. In 10x50 binoculars, its just a large misty patch with one bright star in the middle, but quite noticeable.
Here is my log for last night using my 4.5” F8 Dob
08/31/05 (it was Sept 1 down in Oz) LM 5.0, Std 3/5
30mm Ultima – 30X
Looks nice tonight in the 4.5” – better than the last time I saw it in this little guy. Prominent “Lead Duck” is quite bright, but with direct vision, most of the cluster is a faint mist. With averted vision, it dazzles with stars! The dark central area isn’t as prominent as it is with the 10” – looks almost donut like, but not quite. Very nice with AV.
Here is my log from about a week ago using my 10” F5 Dob
08/24/05 LM4 .5, Std 3/5
14mm Pentax – 89X
Nice OC! Very pretty. Next to the bright star in the middle, there is a “dark hole” where only a faint handful of stars appear. With averted vision, a ton jump out – neat effect.
The fade in/out effect with AV was a lot of fun - very good working example of how the fovea in our eye operates
In my 4.5", the V pattern really doesn't come through until I use AV. With the 10" it is quite clear not matter how you look at it
