Tag Archives: Cygnus

NGC 6946, Fireworks Galaxy

NGC 6946, (also known as the Fireworks Galaxy, Arp 29, and Caldwell 12), is an intermediate spiral galaxy about 22.5 million light-years away, in the constellations Cepheus and Cygnus. It was discovered by William Herschel on September 9, 1798. NGC 6946 is highly obscured by interstellar matter of the Milky Way galaxy, as it is quite close to the galactic plane. Ninesupernovae (SN 1917A, SN 1939C, SN 1948B, SN 1968D, SN 1969P, SN 1980K, SN 2002hh, SN 2004et, and SN 2008S) in the last 60 years or so, have been observed in NGC 6946.
There are polarisation data within ranges 0.17-0.18 m and 0.21-0.23 m, observed in 2003 by WSRT.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Ian King Ikharos 8″ RC
Imaging cameras: Atik 460 EX
Mounts: Software Bisque Paramount MX
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Ian King Ikharos 8″ RC
Guiding cameras: Atik 314L+
Software: PixInsight, Software Bisque CCDSoft 5, Software Bisque TheSkyX, iLanga AstroPlanner, Matt Thomas’s CCDCommander
Filters: Baader Luminance 36mm, Baader Red, Green, Blue 36mm
Accessories: Atik EFW2, Innovations Foresight On-axis guider
Dates: June 29, 2014
Frames: 74×600″
Integration: 12.3 hours

Author: Colin McGill
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 25 Sep 2014

North America nebula

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Sky-Watcher ED80
Imaging cameras: Canon 1100D
Mounts: Sky-Watcher NEQ6 Pro SyncScan
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Sky-Watcher BK804
Guiding cameras: QHYCCD QHY 5
Software: Adobe Photoshop CC, AstroSurf IRIS v5.59
Dates: April 26, 2014
Frames: 5×300″ ISO1600 bin 1×1
Integration: 0.4 hours
Darks: ~4
Bias: ~25

Author: Pavel Syrin
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 23 Sep 2014

NGC 6888, Crescent Nebula

The Crescent Nebula (also known as NGC 6888, Caldwell 27, Sharpless 105) is an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus, about 5000 light-years away. It was discovered by Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel in 1792. It is formed by the fast stellar wind from the Wolf-Rayet star WR 136 (HD 192163) colliding with and energizing the slower moving wind ejected by the star when it became a red giant around 250,000 to 400,000 years ago. The result of the collision is a shell and two shock waves, one moving outward and one moving inward. The inward moving shock wave heats the stellar wind to X-ray-emitting temperatures.

It is a rather faint object located about 2 degrees SW of Sadr. For most telescopes it requires a UHC or OIII filter to see. Under favorable circumstances a telescope as small as 8cm (with filter) can see its nebulosity. Larger telescopes (20cm or more) reveal the crescent or a Euro sign shape which makes some to call it the “Euro sign nebula”.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Takahashi TSA-102
Imaging cameras: Atik 383L+ mono
Mounts: SkyWatcher NEQ6 pro II
Guiding telescopes or lenses: EZG60
Guiding cameras: QHYCCD QHY5 Mono
Focal reducers: Takahashi TOA-35
Software: Pleiades Astrophoto, S.L. PixInsinght 1.8 RC7
Filters: Baader Planetarium OIII, Baader Planetarium Ha 7nm 2″
Dates: Aug. 15, 2014, Aug. 16, 2014
Locations: Pantano
Frames:
Baader Planetarium Ha 7nm 2″: 69×600″ -20C bin 1×1
Baader Planetarium OIII: 66×600″ -20C bin 1×1
Integration: 22.5 hours
Darks: ~20
Flats: ~16
Bias: ~20

Author: Jose Luis Ricote
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 31 Aug 2014

Pelican Nebula

The Pelican Nebula (also known as IC 5070 and IC 5067) is an H II region associated with the North America Nebula in theconstellation Cygnus. The gaseous contortions of this emission nebula bear a resemblance to a pelican, giving rise to its name.The Pelican Nebula is located nearby first magnitude star Deneb, and is divided from its more prominent neighbour, the North America Nebula, by a molecular cloud filled with dark dust.

The Pelican is much studied because it has a particularly active mix of star formation and evolving gas clouds. The light from young energetic stars is slowly transforming cold gas to hot and causing an ionization front gradually to advance outward. Particularly dense filaments of cold gas are seen to still remain, and among these are found two jets emitted from the Herbig–Haro object 555. Millions of years from now this nebula might no longer be known as the Pelican, as the balance and placement of stars and gas will leave something that appears completely different.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Takahashi TSA 102 f/8
Imaging cameras: Canon EOS 1000D / Rebel XS
Mounts: Takahashi EM-400 Temma2
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Lunatico EZG60
Guiding cameras: QHYCCD QHY5
Software: PHD guiding, PixInsight, Bahtinov Grabber
Filters: Astronomik CLS CCD clip in
Accessories: Xap Refrigeración Canon
Dates: May 27, 2012, July 9, 2012
Frames:
Astronomik 12nm Hydrogen Alpha Filter: 18×900″ ISO1600 9C
Astronomik CLS CCD clip in: 12×600″ ISO800 6C
Integration: 6.5 hours
Darks: ~20
Flats: ~20
Bias: ~20

Author: Alberto Pisabarro
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 18 Aug 2014

Veil Nebula

The Veil Nebula is a cloud of heated and ionized gas and dust in the constellation Cygnus. It constitutes the visible portions of the Cygnus Loop (radio source W78, or Sharpless 103), a large but relatively faint supernova remnant. The source supernova exploded some 5,000 to 8,000 years ago, and the remnants have since expanded to cover an area roughly 3 degrees in diameter (about 6 times the diameter, or 36 times the area, of the full moon). The distance to the nebula is not precisely known, but Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) data supports a distance of about 1,470 light-years.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Sky-Watcher ED80 Pro Black-Diamond
Imaging cameras: Canon EOS 1000D / Rebel XS
Mounts: Sky-Watcher HEQ5
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Lunatico EZG60
Guiding cameras: QHYCCD QHY5
Focal reducers: Orion 0.85x Reducer/Corrector
Software: PHD guiding, PixInsight, BinaryRivers BackyardEOS, Bahtinov Grabber
Filters: Astronomik CLS CCD clip in
Dates: July 5, 2013
Locations: San Justo de la Vega
Frames: Astronomik CLS CCD clip in: 9×900″ ISO1600 9C
Integration: 2.2 hours
Darks: ~25
Bias: ~20

Author: Alberto Pisabarro
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 16 Aug 2014

NGC 7000 in Cygnus

The North America Nebula (NGC 7000 or Caldwell 20) is an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus, close to Deneb (the tail of the swan and its brightest star). The remarkable shape of the nebula resembles that of the continent of North America, complete with a prominent Gulf of Mexico. It is sometimes incorrectly called the “North American Nebula”.
The North America Nebula is large, covering an area of more than four times the size of the full moon; but its surface brightness is low, so normally it cannot be seen with the unaided eye. Binoculars and telescopes with large fields of view (approximately 3°) will show it as a foggy patch of light under sufficiently dark skies. However, using a UHC filter, which filters out some unwanted wave lengths of light, it can be seen without magnification under dark skies. Its prominent shape and especially its reddish color (from the hydrogen Hα emission line) show up only in photographs of the area.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: William Optics FLT98
Imaging cameras: Atik 383L+
Guiding telescopes or lenses: William Optics FLT98
Guiding cameras: Starlight Xpress Loadstar
Focal reducers: Riccardi Reducer 0,75x
Software: Fitswork 4.44, Adobe Photoshop CS3 CS3
Filters: Baader S2, Baader Planetarium Ha 7nm 2″
Accessories: Starlight Xpress 5×2″ Filter Wheel
Dates: June 9, 2014
Frames: 22×1200″
Integration: 7.3 hours

Author: Alexander Sielski
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 3 Aug 2014

Cocoon Nebula

IC 5146 (also Caldwell 19, Sh 2-125, and the Cocoon Nebula) is a reflection/emission nebula and Caldwell object in the constellation Cygnus. The NGC description refers to IC 5146 as a cluster of 9.5 mag stars involved in a bright and dark nebula. The cluster is also known as Collinder 470. It shines at magnitude +10.0/+9.3/+7.2. Its celestial coordinates are RA 21^h 53.5^m, dec+47° 16′. It is located near the naked-eye star Pi Cygni, the open cluster NGC 7209 in Lacerta, and the bright open clusterM39. The cluster is about 4,000 ly away, and the central star that lights it formed about 100,000 years ago; the nebula is about 12 arcmins across, which is equivalent to a span of 15 light years. When viewing IC 5146, dark nebula Barnard 168 (B168) is an inseparable part of the experience, forming a dark lane that surrounds the cluster and projects westward forming the appearance of a trail behind the Cocoon.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: GSO RC8
Imaging cameras: Canon EOS 450D / Digital Rebel XSi / Kiss X2
Mounts: Sky-Watcher NEQ6
Guiding telescopes or lenses: GSO RC8
Guiding cameras: lacerta mgen2
Focal reducers: AP CCDT67
Software: DeepSkyStacker, photoshop
Accessories: Lacerta OAG
Dates: July 31, 2013
Frames: 21×600″
Integration: 3.5 hours

Author: Philippe Mingasson
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 28 July 2014

Butterfly Nebula or IC 1318

This is just a part of a huge nebulous region the Sadr region near the bright star Sadr in the constellation of Cygnus. The Sadr region is one of the surrounding nebulous regions; others include the Butterfly Nebula and the Crescent Nebula. It contains many dark nebulae in addition to the emission diffuse nebulae.
Butterfly Nebula (aka The Gamma Cygni ) is more than 3000 light years from us and it consists of the various pink patches.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Meade LXD 55 SN6
Imaging cameras: Canon EOS 450D modified
Mounts: Skywatcher NEQ6 Pro GoTo
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Skywatcher Finderscope 9×50
Guiding cameras: QHY5
Filters: Astronomik 12nm H-Alpha CCD
Dates: Sept. 1, 2013
Frames: 27×300″
Integration: 2.2 hours

Author: Pedro Asunción
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 15 July 2014

Along the Cygnus Wall

Image Credit & Copyright: Martin Pugh

The prominent ridge of emission featured in this vivid skyscape is known as the Cygnus Wall. Part of a larger emission nebula with a distinctive shape popularly called The North America Nebula, the ridge spans about 10 light-years along an outline that suggests the western coast of Mexico. Constructed from narrowband image data, the cosmic close-up maps emission from sulfur, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms to red, green, and blue colors. The result highlights the bright ionization front with fine details of dark, dusty forms in silhouette. Sculpted by energetic radiation from the region’s young, hot, massive stars, the dark shapes inhabiting the view are clouds of cool gas and dust with stars likely forming within. The North America Nebula itself, NGC 7000, is about 1,500 light-years away. To find it, look northeast of bright star Deneb in the high flying constellation Cygnus.

APOD NASA 03-Jul 14

NGC 6992: part of Veil Nebula

About 7,500 years ago that star exploded in a supernova leaving the Veil Nebula, also known as the Cygnus Loop.
NGC 6992 is east part of the Veil Nebula, it lies about 1,400 light-years distant.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Explore Scientific ED102 APO
Imaging cameras: Canon EOS Rebel T3i
Mounts: Celestron CGEM Hypertuned
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Orion ShortTube 80
Guiding cameras: Orion StarShoot Autoguider
Focal reducers: Astro-Tech AT2FF
Software: Main Sequence Software Sequence Generator Pro, Scott Davis AAPPS, Luc Coiffier’s DeepSkyStacker, Adobe Photoshop CS6
Filters: One-Shot Color, Astronomik 12nm OIII Clip-In Filter, Astronomik 6nm Ha Clip-In Filter
Accessories: Robofocus, Home Made Peltier Cooler for T3i
Frames:
Astronomik 12nm OIII Clip-In Filter: 235×180″ ISO1600
Astronomik 6nm Ha Clip-In Filter: 142×300″ ISO1600
One-Shot Color: 51×150″ ISO1600
Integration: 25.7 hours
Darks: ~43
Flats: ~40
Flat darks: ~40
Bias: ~40

Author: Scott Davis
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI
18 June 2014

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