| Description: M17, named the Omega Nebula for its shape (also named the Swan, Horseshoe or Lobster Nebula for similarly unfathomable reasons), lies in Sagittarius, and is only visible at Keele during the short summer nights. It is a young cluster of stars (off the left-hand side) forming in the middle
of a gas cloud. The gas is illuminated and shows brightly here in hydrogen-alpha (which would be red on a colour image). This image only shows a small part of the whole nebula.
Image information: Combination of stacked, dark-subtracted, registered set of 30 x 10s unfiltered images. An unsharp mask has been applied to bring out detail. Image taken 12/07/2006. |
| Description: A mosaic of M17,
showing the extent of the nebula and the open cluster within it. Image is shown
at 38% resolution, north is up. Click for a full-resolution image.
Image information: Combination of stacked, dark-subtracted, registered set of 1 x 30 x 10s and 8 x 9 x 10s unfiltered images. Mosaiced using Serif Drawplus 6. Image taken 12/07/2006. |
Physical information: Magnitude: 6.0, size: 11'.