by Craig and Tammy Temple
Named for it's resemblance to the Greek letter, The Omega Nebula lies in the glowing midst of our own Milky Way. Discovered in 1745 by Phillipe Loys de Cheseaux, M17 is an active area of star formation in the constellation Sagittarius. Also known as The Swan or The Lobster, this nebula is very bright, at magnitude 6.00, and is just over 5000ly distant. This image was captured on June 23 & 24, 2009. The temperatures were 80° F & 81° F respectively.
10" Orion Newtonian f/4.7 w/Baader MPCC
Atlas EQ-G w/EQMOD, Guided
Canon 350D (self-modified) w/Astronomik EOS Clip IR filter + 2" Hutech IDAS LPS filter
Best 53/144 , various exposures 60s, 90s and 120s @ ISO 1600 totaling 76mins.