IC5146 Cocoon Nebula

I imaged IC5146, the Cocoon Nebula for 72 minutes.

The Cocoon Nebula is often referred to as a "stellar nursery", as it
is the birthplace of forming stars.

This nebula contains all three of the major types of nebulosity:
emission, reflection, and absorption. The red color is due to
recombination of hydrogen ions. The blue color arises from the
reflection of blue light from the central star. The dark' obscuring
lines are dust lanes, rivers of dust that block the light from getting
out, and are the absorption regions of the nebula.

I actually saw a hint of the nebula through the eyepiece of the scope.
An eyepiece view is included on my New Images page link below.

The image is an RGB of 24 minutes per component, each component a sum
of 4-minute unguided frames. The scope is a Takahashi E160 f/3.3
astrograph, mount a AP1200GTO, and camera an MX716. Please take a
look.

Images at
http://home.att.net/~dpersyk/new.htm

Thank you for visiting my site.

Clear skies,

Dennis Persyk
Igloo Observatory Home Page http://dpersyk.home.att.net
Hampshire, IL