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NGC 6888



Object:

NGC 6888: Crescent Nebula in Cygnus

RA = 20h 12 min; Dec = +38 deg 21 min

Date & Site:

Imaged on 05/07/2013; Joshua Tree National Park, CA

Imaged over two nights; mild wind; 45 degrees, above average seeing

Equipment:

Telescope: TEC 140 Refractor at F7 FL= 980 mm

Mount: Losmandy G-11 with Gemini
Camera: ST-10XME; CFW10 with Astrodon filters; Prime focus guiding

Notes:

Exposures: 3 hrs of Ha (15 min subs); 32 min each RGB (8 min subs); and 75 min lum (8 min subs)

NGC 6888 also known as the Crescent Nebula is formed by the fast stellar winds from a Wolf-Rayet star colliding with and energizing the slower moving wind ejected by the same star when it evolved to a red giant 250,000 to 400,000 years ago. The result of the collision is a shell and two shock waves, one moving outward and one moving inward. Discovered by Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel in 1792

FOV = 31.2 x 20.3 arc minutes

5,000 light years away

Image taken during the maiden voyage with new camper van

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