1Zach1
Good morning. It's February 2, and today's image is of an emission nebula about 5,000 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus.
Discovered more than 230 years ago by William Herschel, astronomers believe the Crescent Nebula consists of a combination of energetic stellar winds from a Wolf-Rayet star at its core, colliding with slower-moving material that was ejected earlier in the star's life. Eventually, this should all go supernova, which would be absolutely amazing.
Will you or I be alive to see it? Probably not.
But in the meantime, we can enjoy the nebula as it is. This image was taken by Ars reader 1Zach1 using an Astro-Tech AT80ED refractor telescope. It was the product of 11 hours of integration, or 228 exposures lasting three minutes each. Taken in rural Southwest Washington.
I wish you a happy holiday.
source: 1Zach1
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