M29

Credits: Keith Turnecliff, Long Itchington

Messier 29 (M29) is an open cluster located in the constellation Cygnus, the Swan.
The cluster has an apparent magnitude of 7.1.
M29 is too faint to be spotted by the naked eye, but can be seen in binoculars.
It is best observed in telescopes at the lowest powers.
The cluster lies at an approximate distance of 4,000 light years from Earth.
It has the designation NGC 6913 in the New General Catalogue.

Facts about M29 by Keith Turnecliff

The brightest stars of M29 form a "stubby dipper", as Mallas says it. The four brightest stars form a quadrilateral, and another three, a triangle north of them. It is often known as the "cooling tower" due to its resemblance to the hyperboloid-shaped structures. A few fainter stars are around them, but the cluster appears quite isolated, especially in smaller telescopes. In photographs, many faint Milky Way background stars appear.

This star chart represents the view from Long Itchington for mid September at 10pm.
Credits: Image courtesy of Starry Night Pro Plus 8, researched and implemented by Keith Turnecliff.