IC 5146 "The Cocoon Nebula"

Emission Nebula in the Constellation Cygnus

How did this nebula get created?  The Cocoon Nebula, cataloged as IC 5146, is a strikingly beautiful nebula located about 4,000 light years away toward the constellation of Cygnus. Inside the Cocoon is a newly developing open cluster of stars. Like other stellar nurseries, the Cocoon Nebula is, at the same time, an emission nebula, a reflection nebula, and an absorption nebula. Speculation based on recent measurements holds that the massive star in the center of the above image opened a hole in an existing molecular cloud through which much of the glowing material flows. The same star, which formed about 100,000 years ago, now provides the energy source for much of the emitted and reflected light from this nebula.  (Text credit: NASA).

Image Details:

•  
  • Instrument:  TMB 152 Triplet APO Refractor @ f/7.9 (1200mm) focal length
  • Mount:  Astro-Physics AP-1200GTO
  • Image Scale:  1.5 arc-seconds/pixel after processing
  • Filters & Exposure Times:  
    • L:  18 x 5 minutes binned 1 x 1
    • R:  18 x 5 minutes binned 2 x 2
      G:    9 x 5 minutes binned 2 x 2
      B:    9 x 5 minutes binned 2 x 2
      Ha:  6 x 15 minutes binned 2 x 2

    Total Effective Exposure Time:  10.5 hours

  • Camera: SBIG ST-2000XM with CFW8 Color Filter Wheel and AO-8 adaptive optics
  • Software: Maxim DL/CCD, Adobe Photoshop CS2, RC Astro Gradient X-Terminator, Neat Image Pro
  • Location: C.A.A.S. East Observatory, Little Rock, AR., El. 650ft
  • Date: October 19th, 2009

Wade Van Arsdale
Little Rock, AR., USA
October 27th, 2009