From Wikipedia: "The North America Nebula covers a region more than ten times the area of the full
moon, but its surface brightness is low, so normally it cannot be seen with the unaided eye.
Binoculars and
telescopes with large
fields of view (approximately 3°) will show it as a foggy patch of light under sufficiently dark skies. However, using a
UHC filter, which filters out some unwanted
wavelengths of light, it can be seen without magnification under dark skies. Its shape and reddish color (from the
hydrogen Hα
emission line) show up only in photographs of the area.
[6] The portion of the nebula resembling Mexico and Central America is known as the Cygnus Wall. This region exhibits the most concentrated
star formation.
[8] At optical wavelengths, the North America Nebula and the Pelican Nebula (
IC 5070) appear distinct as they are separated by the silhouette of the dark band of
interstellar dust L935. The dark cloud is however transparent to radio waves and infrared radiation, and these wavelengths reveal the central regions of Sh2-117 that are not visible to an ordinary telescope, including many highly luminous stars."
This target displays a lovely interaction of bright emission nebula and dark light-obscuring dust and is a justifiably popular target. This two panel mosaic resolves fascinating details and the high res image is worthy of a browse.
Data acquisition: Barry Wilson & Steve Milne
Processing: Barry Wilson
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