| "The sky is the ultimate art gallery just above us." - Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 82) |
Astrophotography by Jason Jennings |
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| Nebulae :: Gum 85 - Nested Egg Nebula | |
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| Resolutions Available: 941x942 : 1710x1712 : 2850x2853 | |
| Object | Gum 85 - Nested Egg Nebula |
| Comment |
Serpens, or the Serpent, is held by the Serpent Holder, Ophiuchus, and is the only constellation to consist of two separate parts - Serpens Caput (the head) and Serpens Cauda (the tail). The tail resides in a rich area of the Milky Way comprising of hydrogen and dust. One such feature is the emission nebulae fuelled by radiation from the open cluster NGC 6604. This cluster forms part of the Serpens OB2 association which comprises over 100 OB stars within a common age of five million years. The surrounding large emission nebulae known as Gum 85 (aka Sharpless 2-54) appears to harbour a bright egg shaped nebula. It is not clear from the scientific literature what is causing the remarkably intense glow of the egg. The nebula is approximately 6,200 light years away. This image is a HaRGB composite |
| Optics | Takahashi FSQ-106ED F/5 (530mm FL) |
| Camera | Apogee Alta U16M - 1x1 bin (image scale: 3.5 arcsec/pix) |
| Mount | Software Bisque Paramount ME |
| Exposure | Total exposure time: 5.8 hours |
| Date | June 2011 |