M17 -The Swan Nebula / Omega Nebula - Explored June 17, 2023

The Omega Nebula, also known as the Swan Nebula is an area of Hii in the constellation Sagittarius. It was discovered in 1745 by Philippe Loys de Chéseaux and Charles Messier catalogued it in 1764 as M17. It is about 6000 light years from Earth.

Capturing this image in narrowband brings out a lot more detail than that which is visable in broadband imaging.

 

Equipment Details:

• 8 Inch Skywatcher Quattro Carbon Fibre F4.0 Newtonian Reflector

• Skywatcher NEQ6 Mount

• SBIG ST2000xm CCD Camera cooled to -20'c

• SBIG CFW8 Filter Wheel

• Astranomik Ha, Sii and Oiii Filters

• SKywatcher BD 102mm Guide Scope

• Meade DSIii CCD Guide Camera

• Polemaster for polar alignment

• Processed using PixInsight

 

Exposure Details:

• Ha 23 X 180 seconds - Bin 1x1

• Oiii 25 X 180 seconds - Bin 1x1

• Sii 25 X 180 seconds - Bin 1x1

• Cooled at 0'c

 

Total Integration Time: 3 hours and 45 minutes

Done