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NGC 6940, Gary Imm

NGC 6940

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NGC 6940, Gary Imm

NGC 6940

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Description

This object is an open cluster located 2500 light years away in the constellation of Vulpecula. It has about a hundred members, although the cluster is not dense. Bright background stars are visible throughout which are not formal members of the cluster. At the center of the image is the brightest star, the red/orange giant VG Vulpeculae. This star is a variable star with a magnitude ranges from 9.0 to 9.5 every 80 days.

The cluster is colorful and has many red giants, but does not stand out sufficiently from the background to be considered spectacular. Stephen James O'Meara has labelled this the Mothra Cluster, which I find to be a bit of a strange nickname for this subtle but nice cluster.

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