Waid Observatory

Object: Cygnus Wall in NGC7000
Date: Jun. 21-25-27, 2017   -   Location: Dark Sky Observatory, Davis Mountains, TX
Telescope: PlaneWave 17 CDK   Camera: FLI ProLine 16803
Exposure: SII = 320 min., Ha = 200 min., OIII = 360 min.
Image Credit: Preston Starr and Donald Waid
Click on the image below to view at higher resolution.

Cygnus Wall in NGC7000
Cygnus Wall in NGC 70001

The Cygnus Wall is located approximately 1800 light-years from the Earth in the North American Nebula.  (NGC7000)  The North American Nebula derives its name from the shape that resembles the continent of North America and the Cygnus Wall defines the Mexican and Central America regions.  The Cygnus Wall is an area of active star formation.  Many new stars are embedded in the dark clouds of the nebula and are not visible in optical light images.  They are revealed in infrared images and are the subject of scientific research.  The major source of ionizing radiation illuminating NGC7000, as determined by recent infrared studies, is thought to be a massive O-type star located behind dense dust clouds and not visible in optical telescopes.

The image above is known as a mapped, or false color, image and was acquired using narrowband filters.  It was assembled using the standard Hubble Palette with SII mapped to Red, Ha mapped to Green and OIII mapped to Blue.

1http://www.robgendlerastropics.com/NGC7000text.html

 
Copyright Donald P. Waid