galacticsights
astrophotography
Cocoon Nebula, IC5146
Technical Details
Location | Zollikerberg, Switzerland |
Camera | Nikon DSLR D810A |
Telescope | TS ONCT 12" f/4 Carbon Newton |
Special Lense | TS 2,5" Wynne Coma Corrector |
Mount | iOptron CEM60 Center-Balanced Equatorial Mount |
Autoguiding | Lacerta MGEN2 (Autoguiding, Dithering) |
Focuser | Moonlite |
Planetarium Software | Stellarium | Image Session Control | APT - Astro Photography Tool v3.5, ASCOM Platform 6 |
Lights | 83 x 120s (total 2h46'), ISO-1600, additional Biases, Flats, no Darks |
Stacking Software | Pixinsight 1.8, Drizzle 2x |
Image Processing | Pixinsight 1.8 |
"Incredible colours in this superhot area."
The beautiful Cocoon Nebula (IC 5146) is nearly 15 light-years wide, located some 4,000 light years away toward the northern constellation Cygnus. Inside the Cocoon Nebula is a newly developing cluster of stars. Like other star forming regions, the nebula stands out in red, glowing, hydrogen gas excited by young, hot stars and blue, dust-reflected starlight at the edge of an otherwise invisible molecular cloud. The bright star near the center of this nebula is likely only a few hundred thousand years old, powering the nebular glow as it clears out a cavity in the molecular cloud's star forming dust and gas.