M-71 (NGC-6838) A globular star cluster located in the constellation of Sagitta, The Arrow, midway between the stars Delta and Gamma Sagittae. M-17 is 12,000 light years from Earth and is 27 light years in diameter.
It was long thought to be an extremely dense open cluster, but modern photometric research has detected a short "horizontal branch" in the Hertzsprung-Russel diagram of the stars found in M-71, lending credibility to the fact that is IS, in fact, a loosely structured globular cluster. M-71 was discovered by Philippe de Cheseaux in 1745, and included by Charles Messier in his catalog in 1780 as number 71.
This image, acquired on July 14, 2026, is a 2 hour 15 minute integration of 60 second exposures through the Astro-Tech AT-92 92mm APO triplet refractor using the ZWO 2600MC Pro color CMOS camera. Captured using NINA, combined and processed in PixInsight. Post processed using PhotoShop 2026.