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Astrophotographer Kevin Boardman spent over 16 hours capturing the intricate structure of the Crescent Nebula (NGC 6888), located 4700 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cygnus. The nebula, which is about 25 light-years across, is the shell thrown off by the massive Wolf-Rayet star WR 136 (HD 192163), which is near the end of its life and is predicted to explode as a supernova in about 100,000 years.
Dynamic evolution of a space object
The star WR 136, visible as the blue dot in the center of the image, ejected matter as it transformed into a red giant. Subsequent collisions of powerful stellar winds with this envelope created the complex filamentary structures we see today. The nebula gets its name from its characteristic shape, which resembles a young moon when viewed in certain parts of the spectrum.
Technical details of a breathtaking shot
Boardman achieved extraordinary detail of the nebula by using narrow-band filters for 16 hours and 18 minutes, spread over five nights in July. He collected data for about 12 hours for the nebula itself and 4 hours and 20 minutes for the surrounding stars. Using filters that isolate specific wavelengths, he was able to detect both the orange-red filaments of hydrogen (H-alpha) and the blue-green emission of oxygen ([O III]) that outline the envelope. Post-processing of the image was performed in PixInsight.
The Crescent Nebula is too faint to see with the naked eye, but it can be observed with a medium to large telescope with a light filter in September. The best time to observe is on the dark nights around the new moon on September 10-11.
