Machalley
Crescent Nebula NGC 6888
Description:
About 5,000 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus lies NGC 6888, the Crescent Nebula. Its arched and filamentary form was sculpted by the powerful stellar winds of Wolf–Rayet 136, colliding with slower material expelled during a previous red supergiant phase.
In this multiband image, crimson filaments trace hydrogen, teal clouds mark oxygen, while additional emission from sulfur and hydrogen-beta enriches the structure with subtle chromatic variations. The combined data highlight the complex network of shocks and ionized gas surrounding its central star, creating the intricate shell known as the Crescent Nebula.
Spanning about 25 light-years, the Crescent Nebula is a dynamic structure, destined to be dramatically reshaped when its central star ends its life in a supernova explosion.
Technical details:
The image was processed in an HOO palette, with H-alpha mapped to red and OIII mapped to green and blue. Additional H-beta and SII data were later blended in using a screen blending mode, with H-beta encoded in blue and SII encoded in yellow. The natural star colors were restored using PixInsights' Ballesteros blackbody estimator tool.
Telescope: Meade LX200 ACF 10" OTA
Camera QHYCCD QHY268 M
Mount: 10Micron GM2000 HPS II
Filter Ha + OIII (Astrodon) + Hb (Astronomik) + SII (Baader)
Total Integration: 83 h
Software: N.I.N.A. and PixInsight
May - Jun 2025
Antonio Ferretti & Attilio Bruzzone from Lanciano (Italy)
Crescent Nebula NGC 6888
Description:
About 5,000 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus lies NGC 6888, the Crescent Nebula. Its arched and filamentary form was sculpted by the powerful stellar winds of Wolf–Rayet 136, colliding with slower material expelled during a previous red supergiant phase.
In this multiband image, crimson filaments trace hydrogen, teal clouds mark oxygen, while additional emission from sulfur and hydrogen-beta enriches the structure with subtle chromatic variations. The combined data highlight the complex network of shocks and ionized gas surrounding its central star, creating the intricate shell known as the Crescent Nebula.
Spanning about 25 light-years, the Crescent Nebula is a dynamic structure, destined to be dramatically reshaped when its central star ends its life in a supernova explosion.
Technical details:
The image was processed in an HOO palette, with H-alpha mapped to red and OIII mapped to green and blue. Additional H-beta and SII data were later blended in using a screen blending mode, with H-beta encoded in blue and SII encoded in yellow. The natural star colors were restored using PixInsights' Ballesteros blackbody estimator tool.
Telescope: Meade LX200 ACF 10" OTA
Camera QHYCCD QHY268 M
Mount: 10Micron GM2000 HPS II
Filter Ha + OIII (Astrodon) + Hb (Astronomik) + SII (Baader)
Total Integration: 83 h
Software: N.I.N.A. and PixInsight
May - Jun 2025
Antonio Ferretti & Attilio Bruzzone from Lanciano (Italy)