Friday October 4, 2024

Cygnus' Deep Sky Treasures (evening)

The constellation of Cygnus (the Swan) is nearly overhead in the eastern sky after dusk and crosses the meridian at 8:30 p.m. local time. The Milky Way passes directly through the great bird. Dark moonless nights are ideal for seeing the many spectacular, but dim objects in the constellation. The large North America Nebula (NGC 7000), named for its distinctive shape, is a glowing hydrogen cloud located less than 3 degrees east of Deneb. The Pelican Nebula (IC 5070) is another smaller cloud sitting just to the southwest. The Veil Nebula (NGC 6995 and 6974), a huge supernova remnant 2.5 degrees (five full moon diameters across), is centered 3 degrees south of the star Gienah
(Epsilon Cygni). The Blinking Planetary nebula (NGC 6826), an easy object for modest aperture telescopes, is located 5 degrees north of the star Fawaris (Delta Cygni) in the bird's northern wing. For best results, use the largest aperture you can, and enhance the nebulas with narrowband Oxygen-III or Ultra High Contrast filters.


(Data courtesy of Starry Night)
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