2018-10-04 / Image Details (Click on image to enlarge)
galacticsights
astrophotography
Cocoon Nebula, IC5146
Technical Details
| Location | Zollikerberg, Switzerland |
| Camera | Nikon DSLR D810A |
| Telescope | TS ONCT 12" f/4 Carbon Newton |
| Special Lense | TS 2,5" Wynne Coma Corrector |
| Mount | iOptron CEM60 Center-Balanced Equatorial Mount |
| Autoguiding | Lacerta MGEN2 (Autoguiding, Dithering) |
| Focuser | Moonlite |
| Planetarium Software | Stellarium | Image Session Control | APT - Astro Photography Tool v3.5, ASCOM Platform 6 |
| Lights | 83 x 120s (total 2h46'), ISO-1600, additional Biases, Flats, no Darks |
| Stacking Software | Pixinsight 1.8, Drizzle 2x |
| Image Processing | Pixinsight 1.8 |
The beautiful Cocoon Nebula (IC 5146) is nearly 15 light-years wide, located some 4,000 light years away toward the northern constellation Cygnus. Inside the Cocoon Nebula is a newly developing cluster of stars. Like other star forming regions, the nebula stands out in red, glowing, hydrogen gas excited by young, hot stars and blue, dust-reflected starlight at the edge of an otherwise invisible molecular cloud. The bright star near the center of this nebula is likely only a few hundred thousand years old, powering the nebular glow as it clears out a cavity in the molecular cloud's star forming dust and gas.