Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Sagittarius (Sgr)  ·  Contains:  M 17  ·  NGC 6618  ·  Omega nebula
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Messier 17, rflinn68
Messier 17
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Messier 17

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Messier 17, rflinn68
Messier 17
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Messier 17

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Description

The Omega Nebula, also known as the Swan Nebula, Checkmark Nebula, and Horseshoe Nebula (catalogued as Messier 17 or M17) is an H II region in the constellation Sagittarius. It was discovered by Philippe Loys de Chéseaux in 1745. Charles Messier catalogued it in 1764. It is located ~5500 light years away in the rich starfields of the Sagittarius area of the Milky Way.

The cloud of interstellar matter of which this nebula is a part is roughly 40 light-years in diameter and has a mass of 30,000 solar masses.

It is considered one of the brightest and most massive star-forming regions of our galaxy. Its local geometry is similar to the Orion Nebula except that it is viewed edge-on rather than face-on.

The open cluster NGC 6618 lies embedded in the nebulosity and causes the gases of the nebula to shine due to radiation from these hot, young stars. It is also one of the youngest clusters known, with an age of just 1 million years.--Wiki

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Messier 17, rflinn68