Object Information:

 

Messier 17 (NGC 6611), Omega Nebula
Mag. - 6.0
Constellation - Sagittarius
Distance -  6,800 light years,
Size - 75 light years across

 

The first known recorded observation of this emission nebula was by the Swiss astronomer and mathematician Philippe Loys de Cheseaux in about 1746.  This nebula was also independently "re-discovered" and added to Charles Messier's famous list of celestial objects as Messier No. 17 on June 3, 1764.

 

Messier 17 is an emission nebula whose hydrogen gas is caused to glow by radiation from a group of newly formed stars embedded in the nebulosity.

 

Messier 17 is an easy binocular and small telescope object.

  Imaged at: 

 

Mt. Laguna, San Diego County, California,

Elevation - 6500 feet, 

  Equipment:  

 

Optics - Takahashi Epsilon 160 Newtonian Astrograph
Mount - Astro-Physics 1200 GTO,
Camera - Santa Barbara Instrument Group (SBIG) ST-2000XM,

  Exposure Information:

 

June 1, 2008 - An RGB image composed of six 360 second sub-exposures for each color channel.

  Camera Control Software:

 

CCD Soft Ver. 5

  Image Processing Software:

 

Mira 7, CCD Soft, Photoshop CS.