Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Cygnus (Cyg)  ·  Contains:  Crescent Nebula  ·  NGC 6888
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Crescent Nebula, NGC 6888, Caldwell 27, Sharpless 105, Steve Robbins
Crescent Nebula, NGC 6888, Caldwell 27, Sharpless 105
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Crescent Nebula, NGC 6888, Caldwell 27, Sharpless 105

Revision title: 180

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Crescent Nebula, NGC 6888, Caldwell 27, Sharpless 105, Steve Robbins
Crescent Nebula, NGC 6888, Caldwell 27, Sharpless 105
Powered byPixInsight

Crescent Nebula, NGC 6888, Caldwell 27, Sharpless 105

Revision title: 180

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Description

The Crescent Nebula is made by a central star that is ejecting mass at a high rate, about one solar mass every 10,000 years.  The red colored gas is from Hydrogen atoms, and the blue from Oxygen.  The intricate structure is thought to be the interactions of the stellar wind created by ejections from two separate events.  
The centeral star WR 136 is a Wolf-Rayet star meaning it is hotter than most all other stars and has a larger portion of heavy elements on the surface.  It is only 4.7 million years old but is nearing the end of its life.  It is estimated to be 600,000 times brighter than the sun and 21 times the mass of the sun.  The intense ultraviolet radiation from the star causes the gas shell to glow.
It is expected that WR 136 will explode within a few hundred thousand years creating a brilliant supernova.  Since it is only 5,000 light years away, it will be interesting to witness.  Who will be the lucky one to see it first?

This is an HOO image with:
OIII 18 X 660sec
Ha 14 X 660sec
Gain 76
Offset 50

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  • Crescent Nebula, NGC 6888, Caldwell 27, Sharpless 105, Steve Robbins
    Original
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    Crescent Nebula, NGC 6888, Caldwell 27, Sharpless 105, Steve Robbins
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Title: 180

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Crescent Nebula, NGC 6888, Caldwell 27, Sharpless 105, Steve Robbins