M73 is a sparse group of stars that Charles Messier added to his catalog in October 1780, because he mistakenly thought it had some nebulosity. It is not a true star cluster, but rather is merely a small knot of four stars. In this image, it is the four stars in the center of the image in the pattern of the letter "Y". M73 is rated at magnitude 8.9. It is located about 1-1/2 degrees from the Saturn Nebula.
This is a CCD image taken with a Takahashi FS-78 refractor using an SBIG ST-8XE CCD. This image was taken from my backyard in Scottsdale, Arizona.
M73 (NGC 6994)
Constellation: Aquarius
RA: 20h 59m 22s Dec: -12d 36' 20"
December 3, 2007
Image by Sid Leach
Scottsdale, Arizona
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