The Wild Duck Cluster (M11-NGC 6705). Image source: [1]
In the constellation of the sculptor we find a very curious galactic cluster, it is the cluster of the wild duck (Messier 11), so called by the form of flock that forms in the sky, could be represented as thousands of birds flying in formation. It is 6,000 light-years away and is made up of about 2000 stars that formed 250 million years ago, our sun was formed in a galactic cluster, they are also called open clusters. In the case of Messier 11 most of its stars are very hot blue and white stars. Its apparent size seen from Earth is about a third of the apparent size of the Moon.
Messier 11 was discovered in 1681 by the German astronomer Gottfried Kirch, and in 1764 Charles Messier incorporated it into his catalog of astronomical objects. The Messier 11 cluster moves away from our Solar System at a speed of nearly 22 kilometers per second. In its interior have been discovered until now 82 variable stars, and in the zone that surrounds it exist many binary stars and several pulsars, that could be part of the cluster.
In the next hundreds of millions of years, the stars that are part of the Wild Duck cluster will disperse. The blue ones will run out of energy and become giants, dying in the form of planetary nebulae or white dwarfs. The rest of the stars, which have a much smaller mass, will end up scattering throughout the galaxy.
The blue stars in the centre of the image are the young, hot stars of the cluster. Image source: [2]
European Southern Observatory (ESO)