The Swan Nebula

Emission Nebula in Scutum

Uploaded 8/16/09

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The Swan Nebula is the brightest part of a roughly oval shaped nebula nearly a degree in diameter oriented about 30 degrees from horizontal. It is also the center of a very dim and extensive nebulosity complex that includes nearby M16 as well. It is only in the lower right corner we can see a piece of sky that does not contain the reddish hydrogen, and is a silvery neutral black.

Imaging Summer objects here in Arizona is quite challenging because our summer rainy season goes on for months on end with few breaks. This image was taken during the course of the last week, and represents two nights of unobstructed imaging.

Instrument: 12.5" f/5 Home made Newtonian Mount: Astrophysics 1200 QMD CCD Camera: SBIG 10XME NABG with Enhanced Water Cooling Guider: Meade DSI w/Lumicon Newt Easy Guider Exposure: LRGB = 90:50:50:50 AstroDon RGB Combine Ratio: 1: 1.05: 1.2 Location: Payson, Arizona, Elevation: 5150 ft. Sky: Seeing FWHM = 10 arcsec (Maxim DL - 10min subframe), Transparency 9/10 Outside Temperature: 55 F CCD Temperature: -30 C Image Processing Tools: Maxim DL: Calibration, deblooming (Starizona Debloomer), aligning, stacking PixInsight: Curves, Deconvolution Photoshop CS2: Curves, Color Correction, Cleanup HOME GALAXIES EMISSION NEBS REFLECTION NEBS COMETS GLOBULARS OPEN CLUST PLANETARIES LINKS