M26 is a tight open cluster in Scutum with about 90 member stars, thought to be about 89 million years old.

The Dumbbell Nebula is thought to be at 1,250 light years distance, although other estimates exist. The Hubble is currently trying to determine this more accurately.

Not to be confused with other types of nebulae, a planetary nebula is formed when a star reaches middle age, swells to many times its original size and puffs out layers of gas into space which glow around the hot star at the centre.

At between 18,000 and 19,000 light years, a larger telescope is required to resolve the stars of the M28 globular cluster.

The M29 open cluster has an estimated age of 10 million years. Its is situated in the crowded Milky Way area but can be seen in binoculars. Through telescopes, the lowest powers give the best observation.

The four brightest stars form a quadrilateral, and another three form a triangle north of them. A few fainter stars are seen around them, but the cluster appears quite isolated, especially in smaller telescopes.

M30 is about 26,000 light years distance and about 90 light years across. The cluster´s brightest stars can be clearly seen with a 4-inch telescope.