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Credit & Copyright: Mauro Narduzzi
(acquisition) /
Roberto Colombari
(processing)
Explanation:
Supergiant
star Gamma Cygni lies at the center of the
Northern Cross,
famous asterism in the constellation Cygnus the Swan.
Known by its
proper name, Sadr,
the bright star also lies at the center of
this gorgeous
skyscape, featuring
a complex of stars, dust clouds, and glowing nebulae along the
plane of our
Milky Way galaxy.
The field of view spans almost 4 degrees
(eight Full Moons) on the sky and
includes emission nebula IC 1318 and open star cluster NGC 6910.
Left of Gamma Cygni and shaped
like two glowing cosmic wings divided by a long dark
dust lane, IC 1318's popular name is understandably the
Butterfly Nebula.
Above and left of Gamma Cygni, are the young, still tightly
grouped stars of NGC 6910.
Some distance estimates for Gamma Cygni place it at around 1,800
light-years
while estimates for IC 1318 and
NGC 6910
range from 2,000 to 5,000 light-years.
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Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day