Artash Nath and Arushi Nath. Published in SCOPE. The Newsletter of the Royal Astronomical Societ of Canda, Toronto Centre, April – May 2016.
CLUSTERS are a big group of stars. There can be open clusters or globular clusters. Globular clusters are densely packed as they are tightly bound by gravitational forces. Open clusters are less tightly bound.
Coat Hanger in the constellation Vulpecula observed at the Carr Astronomical Observatory, Collingwood.
M5 is a globular cluster in the constellation Serpens. It appeared like a fuzzy object in the telescope and it was not possible to see any individual stars or star light. M23 (NGC 6494) is an open cluster in the constellation Sagittarius. It appeared mostly as a hazy smudge but a few stars could be resolved by the telescope. M11, the Wild Duck Cluster, is an open cluster in the constellation Scutum. There seemed to be lots of bright stars in a close group in the centre. It made the centre of the cluster very bright for an open cluster.
Coat Hanger is a group of seven stars. It is an asterism of the constellation Vulpecula. Since the stars are spread out we can only view it in the wider field of a binocular instead of a telescope. It is a very appropriate name as it really looks like a coat hanger.