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M 17 (NGC 6618)   Swan Nebula 

M 17 is a large emission nebula and open star cluster located along the Milky Way in the constellation Sagittarius, not far from the Eagle Nebuma (M 16). The cluster contains up to 10,000 stars, most hidden by the nebulosity. The cluster and nebula are located at a distance of around 5900 LY, in the Sagittarius Arm of our galaxy. Like M 16, the cluster in the nebula was originally discovered by Phillippe Loys du Cheseax in 1745 or 1746. I was independently discovered by Messier in 1764. It was John Herschel who first described the nebulosity, likening it to the Orion Nebula (M 42).
In addition to the "Swan Nebula", this object also has the common names of the "Omega Nebula" and the "Horseshoe Nebula".

Date(s) Acquired: 14 September 2015
Telescope: Orion 120mm EON Apochromatic Refractor
Camera: QSI Model 583

 

   Exposure Time (min) 
   Number of Exposures
   RGB
   1.5
   
   -
   
   -
   OIII
   -
   RGB
   20
   
   0
   
   0
   OIII
   0

 

Processing:
Master red, green, and blue images created using SIAM.
Color composite image created using Basic Processing Procedure III.
Color composite image contrast-stretched using Adobe Photoshop.




 

 

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