FOUR DISCOVERIES IN ONE IMAGEWith this international collaboration, our team has made four discoveries at once.
Starting with the discovery of the largest object in the image field - Strottner-Drechsler 161 - the team has begun a systematic investigation of the extreme north of the constellation Cygnus - a region that amateurs have so far rarely, or even never, visited because it was considered "empty" space.
This remarkable teamwork shows that the contrary is the case.
The team: Marcel Drechsler, Xavier Strottner, Andreas Zirke, Peter Goodhew, Sven Eklund
(c) Andreas Zirke, Marcel Drechsler
Image above: All four discoveries are within a radius of just over one degree in the night sky.
Such a dense occurrence of possible (and confirmed) planetary nebulae is extremely rare.
(c) Peter Goodhew, Sven Eklund, Marcel Drechsler
The main object in the photo is undoubtedly Strottner-Drechsler 161, a candidate for a possible planetary nebula.
The very deep exposures show parallel filaments in [OIII] and H-alpha. According to Professor Quentin Parker, an astrophysicist at the University of Hong Kong, this object is interesting because it is possible that the particular stripe structure of this nebula is the result of the dispersion of Alfvén waves. An Alfvén wave in a plasma is a low-frequency oscillation of the ions and the magnetic field.
Faint radio signals are also potentially detectable, and the faint arc-like structure is possibly associated with the mid-infrared in the WISE space telescope images. A source in the ultraviolet also reveals a possible CSPN (Central Stars of Planetary Nebulae). It could be an ionised ISM, but the exact nature of this object is still unknown. A spectrum is needed to clarify this question.
Strottner-Drechsler 161Discoverers: Xavier Strottner, Marcel Drechsler
Designation: StDr 161 / PN-G: 088.1+06.7
Coordinates: 20:33:22.73 +51:22:02.37 (J2000)
Constellation: Cygnus
Angular size: 10 x 5 arcminutes
https://planetarynebulae.net/FR/page_np.php?id=1077http://202.189.117.101:8999/gpne/objectInfoPage.php?id=33553
(c) Andreas Zirke, Marcel Drechsler
(c) Andreas Zirke, Marcel Drechsler
the two images above: Further north of StDr 161 is another object - EkGo 1.
This nebula was included in the new Eklund-Goodhew catalogue, named after the two astrophotographers and called EkGo1. It is a candidate for a planetary nebula.
https://planetarynebulae.net/FR/page_np.php?id=1078http://202.189.117.101:8999/gpne/objectInfoPage.php?id=33554
(c) Andreas Zirke, Marcel Drechsler
The northernmost object in the photo is the confirmed annular planetary nebula Strottner-Drechsler 166.
A spectrum taken in 2022 confirmed this. A recent separate photo of Strottner-Drechsler 166 revealed amazing details.
Spectrum of StDr 166, (c) Pascal le Dû
https://planetarynebulae.net/FR/page_np.php?id=1083http://202.189.117.101:8999/gpne/objectInfoPage.php?id=33559
(c) Sven Eklund, Marcel Drechsler
The smallest, but not least beautiful PN candidate is EkGo 2, which was discovered by chance in a comparison photo.
The object was clearly visible after a continuum subtraction and was therefore given the status of a possible PN.
However, the team hopes for a spectrum that will hopefully elevate EkGo 2 to the status of a true PN.
https://planetarynebulae.net/FR/page_np.php?id=1101http://202.189.117.101:8999/gpne/objectInfoPage.php?id=33578 
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