The Crescent Nebula

NGC6888

The Crescent Nebula

Technical data

Instrument: 173/700 Newton-astrograph (ZsIO), TeleVue Paracorr II
Camera: Canon EOS 60D (modified)
Filter: Baader UV/IR block, Astronomik CLS
Mount: SkyWatcher EQ-6 Pro
Guiding: Lacerta M-Gen autoguider

Image data

Exposure time: Összesen 21 hours ISO800
Location, date: Hungary, Izsákfa, Mount-Mátra, Ágasvár - 2013. May-August
Transparency: 6/10
Seeing: 6/10
Temperature: 14 °C
Processing: CCDStack, Registar, Pixinsight LE, Photoshop

Description

NGC 6888, also known as the Crescent Nebula, is a cosmic bubble about 25 light-years across, blown by winds from its central, bright, massive star. NGC 6888's central star is classified as a Wolf-Rayet star (WR 136). The star is shedding its outer envelope in a strong stellar wind, ejecting the equivalent of the Sun's mass every 10,000 years.

The nebula's complex structures are likely the result of this strong wind interacting with material ejected in an earlier phase. Burning fuel at a prodigious rate and near the end of its stellar life this star should ultimately go out with a bang in a spectacular supernova explosion. Found in the nebula rich constellation Cygnus, NGC 6888 is about 5,000 light-years away.

Technical data

Instrument: 173/700 Newton-astrograph (ZsIO), TeleVue Paracorr II
Camera: Canon EOS 60D (modified)
Filter: Baader UV/IR block, Astronomik CLS
Mount: SkyWatcher EQ-6 Pro
Guiding: Lacerta M-Gen autoguider

Image data

Exposure time: Összesen 21 hours ISO800
Location, date: Hungary, Izsákfa, Mount-Mátra, Ágasvár - 2013. May-August
Transparency: 6/10
Seeing: 6/10
Temperature: 14 °C
Processing: CCDStack, Registar, Pixinsight LE, Photoshop
© Patrik Tarczi

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