The Swan Nebula M17 like many other emission nebula, shows red light emitted from hydrogen gas clouds excited by the high energy of young stars.  Unlike other nebula of its class, the bright stars that are energizing the Swan Nebula are concealed by dense dust.  Some of this dust in the center of the Swan both obscures and reflects the light from these bright stars.  White and blue light reflected by dust, combined with the red light emitted by hydrogen, can create a mix of pink and magenta tones in the center of the swan.  The Swan Nebula lies at the edge of a large molecular cloud 5,500 light-years from Earth and is within the Sagittarius arm of the Milky Way.

IMAGE DETAILS:

• Date & Location:  August 30, 2010  - Bernville, PA

• Weather:  Calm, 68F.

• Sky Conditions:  Clear with average transparency. 

• Optics:  TeleVue NP101is Refractor with 0.8x TeleVue Reducer = 432mm @ f4.3

• Filter:  Astronomic  EOS clip-in CLS-CCD (Light Pollution Suppression)

• Mount:  Losmandy G-11 equatorial with Gemini V4

• Guiding:  Orion Solitaire w/TeleVue TV60is

• Camera:  Canon T1i (500D) Hap Griffin Modified - Baader UV/IR

• Exposure:  15 min (3 x 5min) @ ISO 800 RAW

• Calibration Frames:  In Camera Dark Noise Reduction

• Processing:  Images Plus 3.82b, Photoshop CS4, Noise Ninja, NIK

• Comments:  I was only able to capture 3 images of the Swan, but since it is a fairly bright DSO it turned out okay.  More and longer exposures would certainly bring out more details!