The Cocoon Nebula (IC 5146)

clic for 30% size 1200 x 800 (400 kB)

clic here for 50% size 1980 x 1320 (1000 kB)

 

About this Image

The Cocoon Nebula (IC 5146) in northern Cygnus, is a small round emission nebula with some blue reflection portion in the outside. A prominent large dark nebula (B 168) is running towards it from the northwest. Several dark lanes and internal structures are superimposed on the nebulosity itself.
Its globular structure is rare in this part of the Milky Way which is dominated by large diffuse HII regions
The distance to the Nebula is estimated at 4000 light years. North is up.

Below you find a 50/100% crop on the Nebula from the above image.

clic for 100% size 1008 x 794 (190 kB)


Technical Details
Optics

410mm cassegrain in corrected prime focus at f/3

Mount MK-100 GEM
Camera SBIG STL-11000M at -10C, internal filter wheel
Filters Astronomik H-alpha (15 nm), O-III (15 nm), blue
Date Jujy 28, 2005.
Location Wildon/Austria
Sky Conditions mag 5 sky, raw FWHM 3", temperature 26 C,
Exposure L:R:G:B = 120:30:30:50 minutes (10-minute sub-exposures), all 1x1.
Processing Image aquisition, calibration and color combine in Maxim DL 4.10; curves, color balancing, light unsharp mask, integration of luminance in Photoshop;