The Cocoon Nebula by Yanick Bouchard
The Cocoon Nebula (Yanick Bouchard)

The Cocoon Nebula by Yanick Bouchard

Photo of the Week for September 22, 2017 One of the lesser-known treasures found in Cygnus is the […]

Photo of the Week for September 22, 2017

One of the lesser-known treasures found in Cygnus is the Cocoon Nebula, also known as IC5146. The nebula is a glowing cloud of hydrogen gas lit from within by a clutch of newborn stars. Visually, the Cocoon requires a narrow-band filter, a dark sky, and moderately sized optics to glimpse. However, a lane of dark nebulosity called Barnard 168, which stretches from the nebula to the bottom-right corner of the image, can be detected in binoculars.

The Cocoon Nebula by Yanick Bouchard
The Cocoon Nebula (Yanick Bouchard)

Yanick Bouchard recorded this portrait of the Cocoon and B168 from the light-polluted environs of Mirabel, Quebec. He used a Celestron EdgeHD 925, 9¼-inch telescope with HyperStar (for a focal ratio of f/2.3) to capture a total of 198 minutes exposure with a ZWO ASI1600MC cooled colour CMOS camera.