Serpens Cloud, vdB123 and Flaming Skull nebula Sh2-68 (Leo Shatz)

Image of the day 06/16/2022

Serpens Cloud, vdB123 and Flaming Skull nebula Sh2-68

This region of Serpens contains what is referred to as the Serpens Cloud. This super cloud of dust contains many reflection nebulae, one of which is vdB 123, the blue reflection nebula. This super dust cloud overlies the rich star field of the Serpens Milky Way and appears as a pale blue mist with defined borders. Also noted are numerous HH objects in this region of the cloud. This whole region is a small part of the larger structure of the Milky Way, known as the "Great Rift". The Great Rift itself is a giant, dark band which passes through the plane of the Milky Way.

In the lower left, just next to the dark nebula there is vdB 123 - a small blue reflection nebula, embedded in the Serpens Molecular Cloud, which is part of the large local dark cloud complex called the Aquila Rift. Just above vdB 123 is the Serpens Reflection Nebula (SRN), an an orange colored bipolar reflection nebula with multiple HH objects just next to it.

Another remarkable object included in this field is SH2-68, a reddish nebula also known as Flaming Skull nebula. Sh2-68 is an ancient planetary nebula that is estimated to be at least 45,000 years old. The diffuse orange emission is the result of the planetary nebula's motion through the disk of our galaxy. The bluish interior is from energized oxygen atoms. The progenitor star is the very blue star at the center of the bluish gas. The star at the heart of this nebula is moving rapidly through space, and it happens to be in a location in our galaxy where there is more gas and dust between stars than usual.

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Description: Annotated version of Serpens Cloud region showing some of the most interesting objects, including SRN, HH objects, reflection and planetary nebulae

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Status	Advanced success
Started	...
PixInsight job	TW346GLIVIXFP2QBGSWC46SPKFTZN77P
PixInsight queue size	n/a
PixInsight stage	TASK_LOG

RA (center)	18h28m19s.65
RA (top/left)	18h24m08s.10
RA (top/right)	18h24m06s.90
RA (bottom/right)	18h32m30s.84
RA (bottom/left)	18h32m32s.58

Dec (center)	+00°24′05″.9
Dec (top/left)	+01°59′27″.3
Dec (top/right)	-01°11′03″.8
Dec (bottom/right)	-01°11′25″.7
Dec (bottom/left)	+01°59′16″.2

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Image of the day 06/16/2022

Serpens Cloud, vdB123 and Flaming Skull nebula Sh2-68

Image of the day 06/16/2022

Serpens Cloud, vdB123 and Flaming Skull nebula Sh2-68

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Image of the day 06/16/2022

Serpens Cloud, vdB123 and Flaming Skull nebula Sh2-68

Image of the day 06/16/2022

Serpens Cloud, vdB123 and Flaming Skull nebula Sh2-68

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