Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Sagittarius (Sgr)  ·  Contains:  Checkmark Nebula  ·  IC 4701  ·  IC 4706  ·  IC 4707  ·  Lobster Nebula  ·  M 17  ·  M 18  ·  NGC 6596  ·  NGC 6605  ·  NGC 6613  ·  NGC 6618  ·  Swan Nebula  ·  omega Nebula
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Messier 17 Widefield, GoldfieldAstro
Messier 17 Widefield
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Messier 17 Widefield

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Messier 17 Widefield, GoldfieldAstro
Messier 17 Widefield
Powered byPixInsight

Messier 17 Widefield

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Description

The Omega Nebula, also known as the Swan Nebula, Messier 17 or NGC 6618 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 in the rich starfields of the Sagittarius area of the Milky Way.

The Omega Nebula is between 5,000 and 6,000 light-years from Earth and it spans some 15 light-years in diameter. 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. The total mass of the Omega Nebula is an estimated 800 solar masses.

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Messier 17 Widefield, GoldfieldAstro