Crescent Nebula
About this image
NGC 6888, better known as the Crescent Nebula, is one of the most fascinating summer deep-sky targets in the constellation Cygnus. It is not just a pretty cloud of glowing gas. It is the result of a massive star approaching the final stages of its life and reshaping the space around it.
The Crescent Nebula is an emission nebula approximately 4,700 light-years from Earth. It is around 25 light-years across and would appear roughly one-quarter the apparent size of the full Moon in our sky. Its listed magnitude is about 8.8, although its light is spread over a fairly large area, making it much harder to see visually than that figure suggests.
At the centre is WR 136, an extremely hot and massive Wolf–Rayet star. Earlier in its life, the star expelled slower-moving material into space. Its present, much faster stellar wind is now catching up with that older material, compressing and heating it into the glowing shell we photograph today.
The result looks like a cosmic bubble with bright curved filaments, darker internal structure and a faint outer halo.
NGC 6888 contains strong hydrogen, oxygen and sulphur emission.
Image details
| Object type | emission nebula |
|---|---|
| Catalogue | NGC 6888, C 27 – NGC 6888 – SH 2-105 – LBN 203 – CED 179 – DWB 19 |
| Constellation | Cygnus (Cyg) |
| Observed | 2026 Jul 11 – 15:20 UTC |
| Location | Portsmouth, UK |
| Moon | Waning Crescent – 12% illuminated – age 26.2 days |
| WordPress categories | Nebula |
Equipment
| Telescope | Skywatcher 127 Mak |
|---|---|
| Camera | ZWO ASI2600MC Pro |
| Mount | Juwei 17 |
| Filter | L-Enhance |
| Focal length | 1500mm |
| F-ratio | f/11 |
| Pixel scale | 0.52 arcsec/pixel |
Acquisition
| Exposure | Not recorded |
|---|---|
| Gain | Not recorded |
| Guiding RMS | >1.2 |
Observation notes
Still experimenting with imaging at f12, thing needs alot more time.
Processing notes
A combination of both the L-Enhance and L-Synergy filters. I find this target difficult to process, it probably needs alot more imaging time, especially at f12. I did a wide-field shot of the same area some time ago which I will post
Posted from CityAstroLog.