Messier 71 (M 71)

Introduction | Map | Sketch | Find/Identify | My Best Own Photos | My Own Observations | References || Appendix: My Own Photos

On this page I collect my observations of the globular star cluster M 71 (NGC 6838) in the constallation Sagitta.

Introduction

M 71 in the constellation Sagitta is, according to Stoyan, an unusually loose globular star cluster.

M 71 (NGC 6838)
Size: 6' (Stoyan)
Distance: 13,000 light years (Stoyan)
Rating: *** (Stoyan).

Map

M 71 in Sagitta is close to the constellation Scutum/Shield. (Image Courtesy of SkySafari Astronomy, www.simulationcurriculum.com)

Sketch

The sketch by Michael Vlasov (DeepSkyWatch.com) provides a rough impression of what I wanted to observe: Sketch of M 71 by Michael Vlasov (Copyright © Michael Vlasov 2016)

Note: I only have the author's permission to link to the sketch.

Find/Identify

Find: The small constellation Sagitta/Pfeil lies above Altair (Aquila/Adler); it consists mainly of 4 stars which almost form a straight line. From the left and about in the middle there is one star and on the right there are two stars close above each other. The globular cluster M 71 lies about in the middle between the two single stars on the left and in the middle and a little below the connecting line.

Identify: Once you found M 71 in the way as described above, it is also identified. (Image Courtesy of SkySafari Astronomy, www.simulationcurriculum.com)

My Best Own Photos

Atik Infinity & Explorer 150PDS (December 31, 2017)

M 71 - unprocessed		Ditto - post-processed		Ditto - post-processed and sharpened

eVscope

M 71 - Aug 24, 2020		M 71 - Aug 24, 2020, processed		M 71 - Aug 24, 2020, processed and sharpened
M 71 - Oct 19, 2020		M 71 - Oct 19, 2020, processed		M 71 - Oct 19, 2020, processed and sharpened
M 71 - Sep 8, 2021		M 71 - Sep 8, 2021, processed		M 71 - Sep 8, 2021, processed and sharpened

Vespera

M 71 - original (12 frames = 120 seconds)

Vespera Pro

M 71, Jul 7, 2024 - 1800p (60 frames = 600s), 1:1 section		M 71, Jul 7, 2024 - 1800p (60 frames = 600s), 1:1 section, processed
M 71, Jul 8, 2024 - 1800p (90 Frames = 900s), 1:1 section		M 71, Jul 8, 2024 - 1800p (90 frames = 900s), 1:1 section, processed

My Own Observations

• I do not know when and how I observed M 71, but I remember that the star cluster was very loose ...

Observations September/October 2018

• September 17, 2018 (Sumène, France: PS 72/432 auf AZ Pronto Mount): M 71 probably seen faintly

Observations September/October 2019

• October 3, 2019 (Sumène, France: StarTravel 120/600 on AZ Pronto Mount): M 71 (24, 10, 7, 4 mm) somewhat resolved at 4 mm, nice, but faint.
• October 31, 2019 (Erkerode: Skymax-127 on AZ Pronto Mount): M 71 (32, 16 mm) close to Sagitta, looked always more like a nebula and faint, at least fainter than M 27 (I had some problems with finding it...)

Observations August to October 2020

• August 9, 2020 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope): M 71 photographed in the new rectangular format without overlay, many hot pixels
• August 24, 2020 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope): M 71 photographed (r.f., n.o.)
• October 19, 2020 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope): M 71 photographed (r.f., n.o.)

Observations August to December 2021

• August 14, 2021 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: C8 on Star Discovery): M 71 observed; faint, but nice, smaller than M 13/M 92
• September 8, 2021 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope): M 71 photographed (n.o., r.f.), new image size and processing
• December 21, 2021 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: eVscope and eVscope 2): M 71 photographed; for comparison of eVscope with eVscope 2

Beobachtungen July 2022

• July 31, 2022 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: Vespera): M 71 photographed

Observations July 2024

• July 7, 2024 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: Vespera Pro): M 71 photographed, brighter stars disturbed (10 min)
• July 8, 2024 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau: Vespera Pro): M 71 photographed (15 min)

References

• Messier Catalogue - Messier 71: messier.seds.org/m/m071.html
• Messier 71 (Wikipedia): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_71

On this Site

• Sky-Watcher Explorer 150PDS Information (6" Newton)
• Omegon Photography Scope 72/432 ED OTA Information (2.8" Refractor)
• Sky-Watcher StarTravel 120/600 OTA Information (4.7" Refractor, Borrowed)
• Sky-Watcher Skymax-127 OTA Information (5" Maksutov-Cassegrain)
• Celestron C8 OTA Information (8" Schmidt-Cassegrain)
• Unistellar eVscope Information
• Unistellar eVscope 2 Information
• Vaonis Vespera - Information
• Vaonis Vespera Pro - Information
• Sky-Watcher AZ Pronto Mount Information
• Sky-Watcher AZ-GTi AZ GoTo Mount Information
• Sky-Watcher Star Discovery AZ GoTo Mount Information
• Atik Infinity Colour Camera
• ZWO ASI224 Color Camera - Information

Appendix: My Own Photos

Atik Infinity & Explorer 150PDS (December 31, 2017)

M 71 - unprocessed		Ditto - post-processed		Ditto - post-processed and sharpened

ZWO ASI224 at Omegon PS 72/432

M 71 - Sep 2, 2021, stacked from single frames

eVscope

M 71 - Aug 9, 2020, many hot pixels		M 71 - Aug 9, 2020, processed		M 71 - Aug 9, 2020, processed and sharpened
M 71 - Aug 9, 2020, many hot pixels		M 71 - Aug 9, 2020, processed		M 71 - Aug 9, 2020, processed and sharpened
M 71 - Aug 19, 2020		M 71 - Aug 19, 2020, processed		M 71 - Aug 19, 2020, processed and sharpened
M 71 - Aug 24, 2020		M 71 - Aug 24, 2020, processed		M 71 - Aug 24, 2020, processed and sharpened
M 71 - Oct 19, 2020		M 71 - Oct 19, 2020, processed		M 71 - Oct 19, 2020, processed and sharpened
M 71 - Oct 19, 2020		M 71 - Oct 19, 2020, processed		M 71 - Oct 19, 2020, processed and sharpened
M 71 - Sep 8, 2021		M 71 - Sep 8, 2021, processed		M 71 - Sep 8, 2021, processed and sharpened
M 71 - Dec 21, 2021		M 71 - Dec 21, 2021, processed

eVscope 2

M 71 - Dec 21, 2021		M 71 - Dec 21, 2021, photo left processed

Vespera

M 71 - original (12 frames = 120 seconds)

Vespera Pro

M 71, Jul 7, 2024 - 1800p (60 frames = 600s), 1:1 section		M 71, Jul 7, 2024 - 1800p (60 frames = 600s), 1:1 section, processed
M 71, Jul 8, 2024 - 1800p (90 Frames = 900s), 1:1 section		M 71, Jul 8, 2024 - 1800p (90 frames = 900s), 1:1 section, processed