M17, THE OMEGA NEBULA, also called THE SWAN NEBULA on 2024-07-02
This photo was taken in Kyle, Texas, under Bortle 5.9 skies, through a 6-inch f/4 Telescope, on a Sky-Watcher EQ6-R mount, with a ZWO ASI533MC PRO color camera. The total image acquisition time is: 03 hrs 25 min 00 sec. The processing was done with PixInsight. Full Size View Full size files are very large and can take a minute to download. After downloading the full-size picture to zoom in or out on a computer hold down the Ctrl key and use the scroll mouse button, or you can press the + or - key.
M17 is about 5,000 to 6,000 light-years from Earth and about 15 light-years in diameter. The cloud of interstellar matter, of which this nebula is a part, is roughly 40 light-years in diameter and has a mass of about 30,000 solar masses. The Omega Nebula is one of the brightest and most massive star-forming regions in our galaxy. Its local geometry is similar to the Orion Nebula (M42) except that it is viewed edge-on rather than face-on.
