M17 The Omega Nebula (Steve Argereow)

M17 The Omega Nebula

M17 The Omega Nebula

Note: The weather is still making it difficult in NC to get any real time on an imaging target, so I'm publishing images that I wish I could get more time on!

M17, also known as the Omega Nebula, is an emission nebula located in the rich Milky Way star fields of Sagittarius. It's a HII star formation region that shines at mag. +6.0, placing it at the limit of naked eye visibility. The Omega Nebula is located 5,500 light-years from Earth. Embedded within it is an open cluster of at least 35 stars that provides the source of the glowing gas. In many similar nebulae such stars are easily visible, but not so in the case of M17. They are hidden deep within the structure and therefore not obvious. M17 was discovered by Philippe Loys de Chéseaux sometime between 1745-46. Charles Messier independently rediscovered it on June 3, 1764. The nebula covers 20 x 15 arc minutes of apparent sky, which corresponds to an actual diameter of 32 light-years. It's also sometimes referred to as the Swan Nebula, Horseshoe Nebula, Checkmark Nebula or Lobster Nebula.

Information Credits: Freestarcharts.com

Telescope: Explorer Scientific 127mm CF APO Refractor f/7.5 (952mm Focal Length)
Explore Scientific X0.7 Reducer f/5.25 (667mm Focal Length)
Mount IOptron CEM40
Camera ZWOASI6200MC-Pro Temp -10C, Binning 1 x 1, Gain 100 Offset 50
ZWO EFW

24 X 120 Second Exposures W/Astrodon OIII Filter (3nm)
28 X 120 Second Exposures W/Optolong L-Extreme Filter (6nm)
30 Dark Frames 40 Flats
Total Integration Time: 1 Hours 44 Minutes
Acquisition with SharpCap
Stacked with Astro Pixel Processor
Guiding PHD2
Processed with Astra Image

Original
Final
B

B

Description: Added Integration time 85 X 120 sec Optolong L-Extreme
39 X 120 Sec Astrodon 3nm OIII
Total time 4 hours 8 min

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Status	Advanced success
Started	...
Astrometry.net job	6209696
PixInsight job	IHU9Q5YQJY6F793YLZG1WF246DLRBOVM
PixInsight queue size	n/a
PixInsight stage	TASK_LOG

RA (center)	18h20m47s.50
RA (top/left)	18h22m52s.81
RA (top/right)	18h22m51s.20
RA (bottom/right)	18h18m42s.30
RA (bottom/left)	18h18m42s.60

Dec (center)	-16°07′51″.8
Dec (top/left)	-16°44′23″.3
Dec (top/right)	-15°31′04″.2
Dec (bottom/right)	-15°31′16″.2
Dec (bottom/left)	-16°44′35″.3

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