IC5146

[alan4908]

IC5146 (aka the Cocoon Nebula) is a reflection and emission nebula about 15 light years across and 4000 light years distant. It surrounds an open star cluster which mainly consists of young stars. The central star is believed to be only 100,000 years old and powers the nebula.

The nebula glows red due to the hydrogen gas being ionised by interior stars, while the blue regions are created by light from the nearby stars being reflected off the dust and gas.

For this second attempt, I combined a new data set with some from 2019. This larger data set together with some new Pixinsight tools allowed me to display a deeper image. My original attempt is here: https://stargazerslounge.com/gallery/image/35093-cocoon-nebula-close-up/

The LRGB below was taken by my Esprit 150 and represents a total integration time of just over 38 hours and has a Ha blend into the red channel. The annotated image shows the location of some distant background galaxies.

Alan

 

IC5146

IC5146 (annotated)

L:33, R:23, G:23, B:24 x 600s; H:42 x 1800s.