SUNSET: 
0
Photographer:
Joel
Location of Photo:
Pie Town, NM
Date/Time of photo:
June 8-14, 2021
Equipment:
TEC-140 APO; AP Mach1 mount; Atik 460ex mono camera; Astrobin 5nm and 3nm narrowband filters; Baader RGB filters; total 5 hr 48 min exposures
Description:
This is M17 in Sagittarius, commonly known as the Swan -- or Omega -- Nebula. Perhaps two thirds the size of the better-known Orion Nebula, and about four times more distant from the earth (6000 or so light-years, versus 1500 for Orion), the Swan, like Orion, is an active star nursery, its bright core radiating from the energy of hot, relatively young stars, and shielding a number of "proto-stars" that infra-red photography has revealed in its core.
