by Rod Pommier
Location: Pommier Observatory, Portland, OR, USA
Telescope/Mount: Celestron Compustar C14 with Astrophysics 0.75x focal reducer (f/8.3).
Camera: SBIG STL 11000M with Baader Planetarium H-alpha, L, R, G, & B filters.
Dates: 2013-07-18 through 2013-08-06.
Exposures: H-alpha:L:R:G:B:=630:90:120:120=18 hours,10 minutes total exposure,
Location: Pommier Observatory, Portland, OR, USA
H-alpha:L:R:G:B:=630:90:120:120=18 hours, 10 minutes total exposure,
NGC 6914 is a nebular complex lying 6,000 light-years away in Cygnus, just north of the star Sadr. It is one of the rare regions in the Milky Way in which one can see all three types of nebulae, red emission nebulae, blue reflection nebulae, and dark obscuring nebulae, within a very small expanse of sky. The majority of the nebula is a broad expanse of hydrogen clouds re-emitting red hydrogen alpha light as a result of ionization from the ultraviolet light from several hot stars of the Cygnus OB2 association that have formed out of this nebula. These stars also supply the light responsible for illuminating the blue reflection nebulae consisting of residual dust from their formation out of the larger nebula. The entire tableau silhouettes numerous cold dark nebulae that are also being sculpted by the fierce stellar winds emitted by these stars.