IC 5146 (Cygnus)
Fig. 1 - A giant condensation of dust and molecular gas: The reflection and emission nebula IC 5146 in Cygnus, photographed with a 16-inch f/4.5 Dob on an equatorial platform.
| Object name: | Constellation: | Coordinates: | Apparent size: | Visual brightness: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IC 5146 | Cygnus | 21h53m / +47°16' | 12' | 7.2 mag |
The reflection and emission nebula IC 5146 ("Cocoon Nebula", Caldwell 19, Sh 2-125, Barnard 168) in the constellation Cygnus. The nebula is approximately 2,500 light-years from Earth. Its diameter of 12 arcminutes corresponds to a physical span of about 9 light-years.
Embedded in the nebula is a small open cluster known as Collinder 470. The stars formed about 100,000 years ago and illuminate the nebula. As seen from Earth, IC 5146 is situated at the end of a long dark lane called Barnard 168, a dark nebula. Unfortunately, my image doesn't show it well. IC 5146 was independently discovered by both American astronomer Edward Barnard in 1893 and German astronomer Max Wolf in 1894 (source: Wikipedia).
Exposure time: 1h 54min (38x approx. 3min) at ISO 800, taken on October 18 / 19, 2017. Processing with Deep Sky Stacker and Photoshop. No calibration frames were taken.
Equipment: Canon EOS 450D Baader modified camera, TeleVue Universal Paracorr coma corrector, 16" f/4.5 "Ninja" dobsonian telescope riding on a dual-axis Tom Osypowski equatorial platform, Lacerta MGEN autoguider, Lacerta off axis system.
Field of view comparison: image of the moon with the same setup.
Fig. 2 - Search chart for IC 5146. Copyright 2025 'The Mag-7 Star Atlas Project', www.siaris.net.