vdB121
Reflection Nebula in Sagittarius
About
A tiny reflection nebula in Sagittarius, about 4′ across, in the same region as the Swan Nebula (M17) and the cluster M18.
Imaging tips
- At about 4′ it is too small to frame: it needs a long focal length and fine pixel scale.
- Reflection nebulae need broadband, so skip dual-band and narrowband filters.
- One 2° × 1.3° wide image from a 12-inch f/3.6 astrograph shows it together with M17, M18 and IC 4701, so a wide field gives it context.
- That wide image used 3 h 50 min of luminance plus colour data, binned 2×2.
- Best around June and July; it peaks near 23° altitude from 50°N.
Facts
- Size
- 4′
- Magnitude
- —
- Coordinates
- RA 18h 21.0m, Dec −17° 9′
- Framing, APS-C
- longer than 4000 mm
- Framing, full frame
- longer than 4000 mm
- Best months
- Jun, Jul
- Peak altitude
- 23° from 50°N, 38° from 35°N