I recently spent some time in the constellation of Cygnus photographing the Cygnus Loop, consisting primarily of the Eastern and Western Veil Nebula and Pickering’s Triangle. It turns out that there are some other interesting targets in this constellation and I plan to spend some time exploring it.
The journey takes a stop by the Crescent Nebula, an emission nebula located some 5,000 light years from Earth. It’s formation is quite intriguing. It is said to be the result of the collision of wind fields from two stars some 250,000 to 400,000 years ago. The result of the collision is a shell and two shock waves. This would definitely explain its unique shape. The nebula is lodged in a sea of rich hydrogen emissions, which is shown as red in astro images. I think I have definitely found the mothership 😊.
Total integration of 3.5 hours at Gain 200, offset 3, TEC @ 10 degrees with Altair Hypercam 26c, Evostar 72ED, Askar 0.8 reducer, AA quadband filter on EXOS 2GT mount.