8" f5 Newtonian reflector

 ST-8XME, self-guided, binned 1x1, temp -15c, camera control MaxIm DL 4.56

Lumicon Deep Sky filter, 150 minutes (15 x 10 minute subs), 09/10/2007

CCDStack 1.3, Photoshop 7.0

 Rolling Roof Observatory, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360 (+34d 13m 29s -118h 52m 20s)

Another Messier open cluster lost in a dense Milky Way field. M 26 is about 3.5 degrees SSW of M 11, on the Southern edge of the Scutum Star Cloud.

From the NGC / IC Project:

Contemporary Visual Observation(s) for NGC 6694

NGC 6694 = M26 = Cr 389
18 45 18 -09 23.0
V = 8.0;  Size 15

17.5" (6/30/00): this rich, distinctive cluster stands out well in the field at 
100x.  At 220x, ~60 stars are resolved in a 7' diameter.  A mag 9 star marks the 
SW end.  About a dozen stars are arranged in a striking arc (concave to the 
west) just north of the mag 9 star.  A dark lane oriented N-S bisects the 
cluster just following this star chain and extending past the bright star.  On 
the east side of this lane is a rich group of stars, roughly arranged into two 
irregular ovals.

13": about 40 stars mag 9-14 are resolved in a 7' diameter at 220x.  The 
brightest star is mag 8.8 SAO 142584 at the SW end.  A faint group of mag 13.5-
14 stars is just east of the main section.  Located in a rich field.

8": 20 stars mag 11-13, fairly small.  Consists mostly of faint stars except for 
the four brighter central stars which form a "kite" asterism.  Some dense 
sections of faint stars lie N and S in strings.

- by Steve Gottlieb