M17

Sagittarius - Emission Nebula/Cluster - Magnitude 6.0

M17 - The Swan Nebula in Sagittarius

M17, the Swan Nebula, is one of the most special summertime sites that you could hope to see. It's a bright emission nebula resting among the considerable dust of the Milky Way. From dark skies, it is can be detected with ease using the naked eye. With a telescope of even small and moderate apertures, M17 is quite beautiful, with the brighter portion of the nebula tracing the shape of a swan. Using a narrowband or OIII filter, the nebulosity really stands out. Binoculars give a great view as well since the wide views provide a greater perspective in the midst of the Milky Way. M17 is also known as the "Omega Nebula," a name given to it because its overall shape seems to resemble the Greek letter.

Location: Ballauer Observatory in Azle, Texas
Seeing: 3/10 (2.5 FWHM)
Transparency: 2/10
Date and Time: March 17, 2004 @ 5:00AM
Scope/Mount: Tak FSQ-106 @ f/5 and Takahashi NJP mount
Camera: SBIG ST-10xme with CFW-8a color filter wheel
Exposure Information: RGB image, 10:10:10 minutes (10 minute subexposures)
Processing Information: Dark frame calibration, deblooming, gradient removal, registration and Sigma Combine in MaxIm 3.0. Digital development in Images Plus. Levels, Curves, color balance, and cropping in Photoshop CS.

Exposure Notes: These are very short exposures taken with the object in the midst of considerable city glow near morning twilight. Despite this fact, it's still a decent image. Goes to show how great CCD technology truly is! Special thanks to Fred Koch for the loan of both the NJP mount and the ST-10xme camera. This was a "first light" shot using that mount.