The Crescent Nebula is a cosmic cloud glowing as it’s blasted by radiation from a rare type of star

Pictures of the Crescent Nebula, NGC 6888, and facts about this beautiful deep-sky emission nebula powered by an ageing Wolf-Rayet star.

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Published: Monday, 12 August 2024 at 12:18 PM

The Crescent Nebula, or NGC 6888 as it is formally known, is a distinctive emission nebula that stretches about 25 lightyears across and is located about 5,000 lightyears away from Earth in the Cygnus constellation.

Discovered by William Herschel in 1792, the Crescent Nebula is produced by a type of star known as a Wolf-Rayet.

The Crescent Nebula by Bill McSorley, Leeds, UK. Equipment: SW 150P Newtonian, EQ5 GoTo Mount, QHY8L cooled ccd OSC camera.

These are are massive stellar objects that are ageing and losing mass at an incredibly high rate.

That’s certainly the case with this Wolf Rayet: the star is shedding its outer layers into space at a rate equivalent to the mass of the Sun about every 10,000 years.

This violent and rapid ejection has produced a dense shell of scorching hot material that gives the nebula its shape, while the complex structures seen within the bubble are likely the result of stellar winds colliding and interacting with older material ejected by the star long ago.

NGC 6888, the Crescent Nebula Bill Brooks, Leicester, UK, 9 and 13 October 2023 Equipment: ZWO ASI533MC Pro CMOS camera, Orion Optics 200m f/6 Newtonian, Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro mount
NGC 6888, the Crescent NebulaBill Brooks, Leicester, UK, 9 and 13 October 2023Equipment: ZWO ASI533MC Pro CMOS camera, Orion Optics 200m f/6 Newtonian, Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro mount

It is thought that the star at the centre of the Crescent Nebula – known as WR 136 – will eventually end its life in a dramatic stellar explosion known as a supernova.

The Crescent Nebula is also known as Caldwell 27, a member of the famous Caldwell Catalogue conceived by Sir Patrick Moore.

Sadr represents the chest of the Cygnus swan. Credit: Pete Lawrence
Sadr represents the chest of the Cygnus swan. Credit: Pete Lawrence

Below is a selection of images of the Crescent Nebula captured by BBC Sky at Night Magazine readers and astrophotographers from around the world.

If you’d like to get into capturing images of the night sky yourself, find out more about astrophotography with our astrophotography guides, or discover our pick of the best cameras for astrophotography.

And if you’d like to submit your images, find out how to send us your astrophotos or share them with us via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Pictures of the Crescent Nebula

NGC 6888, the Crescent Nebula Bill Brooks, Leicester, UK, 9 and 13 October 2023 Equipment: ZWO ASI533MC Pro CMOS camera, Orion Optics 200m f/6 Newtonian, Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro mount
NGC 6888, the Crescent NebulaBill Brooks, Leicester, UK, 9 and 13 October 2023Equipment: ZWO ASI533MC Pro CMOS camera, Orion Optics 200m f/6 Newtonian, Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro mount
NGC 688, the Crescent Nebula Alfonso Merino, Madrid, Spain, 7 July 2023 Equipment: ZWO ASI294MC colour CMOS camera, Celestron C8 Schmidt-Cassegrain, Sky-Watcher EQ6-R mount
NGC 688, the Crescent NebulaAlfonso Merino, Madrid, Spain, 7 July 2023Equipment: ZWO ASI294MC colour CMOS camera, Celestron C8 Schmidt-Cassegrain, Sky-Watcher EQ6-R mount
The Crescent Nebula Andy Weller, Sandy, Bedfordshire, 16/17 July 2021 Equipment: ZWO ASI294MC Pro camera, Celestron C11 XLT Schmidt-Cassegrain, Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro mount
The Crescent NebulaAndy Weller, Sandy, Bedfordshire, 16/17 July 2021Equipment: ZWO ASI294MC Pro camera, Celestron C11 XLT Schmidt-Cassegrain, Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro mount
The Crescent Nebula Jamie Macdougall, Ely, Cambridgeshire, 1-13 September 2020 Equipment: ZWO ASI 1600MM Pro camera, Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED DS-Pro refractor, Sky-Watcher NEQ6 Pro mount
The Crescent NebulaJamie Macdougall, Ely, Cambridgeshire, 1-13 September 2020Equipment: ZWO ASI 1600MM Pro camera, Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED DS-Pro refractor, Sky-Watcher NEQ6 Pro mount
The Crescent Nebula Catalin Daniel Cosar, Henlow, Bedfordshire, June 2020. Equipment: Moravian G3-16200 camera, Tele Vue-NP101 apo refractor, Sky-Watcher EQ8 Pro mount
The Crescent Nebula Catalin Daniel Cosar, Henlow, Bedfordshire, June 2020. Equipment: Moravian G3-16200 camera, Tele Vue-NP101 apo refractor, Sky-Watcher EQ8 Pro mount
Crescent Nebula André van der Hoeven, Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, Netherlands, 2016–2019. Equipment: QSI 583ws mono camera, TMB 92SS apo refractor, Sky-Watcher NEQ6 mount
Crescent Nebula André van der Hoeven, Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, Netherlands, 2016–2019. Equipment: QSI 583ws mono camera, TMB 92SS apo refractor, Sky-Watcher NEQ6 mount
Crescent Nebula André van der Hoeven, Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, Netherlands, 2016–2019. Equipment: QSI 583ws mono camera, TMB 92SS apo refractor, Sky-Watcher NEQ6 mount
Crescent Nebula André van der Hoeven, Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, Netherlands, 2016–2019. Equipment: QSI 583ws mono camera, TMB 92SS apo refractor, Sky-Watcher NEQ6 mount
The Crescent Nebula Stephen Wilson, Eston, North Yorkshire, 22 and 23 May 2019. Equipment: Altair Astro Hypercam 183M, William Optics ZS71 refractor, Sky-Watcher HEQ5 mount.
The Crescent NebulaStephen Wilson, Eston, North Yorkshire, 22 and 23 May 2019. Equipment: Altair Astro Hypercam 183M, William Optics ZS71 refractor, Sky-Watcher HEQ5 mount.
The Crescent Nebula by Mark Griffith, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK. Equipment: Teleskop service 12" Richey-Chretien telescope, Skywatcher EQ8 mount,Atik 383L camera, Astronomik Ha, Oiii filters, Astro physics 0.67 reducer.
The Crescent Nebula by Mark Griffith, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK. Equipment: Teleskop service 12″ Richey-Chretien telescope, Skywatcher EQ8 mount,Atik 383L camera, Astronomik Ha, Oiii filters, Astro physics 0.67 reducer.
The Crescent Nebula by David Slack, Prudhoe, Northumberland, UK.
The Crescent Nebula by David Slack, Prudhoe, Northumberland, UK. Equipment: Orion ED80, SXV-H9 mono CCD camera, 0.6 focal reducer, Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro, Astronomik 12nm Oiii filter, Baader 7nm Ha filter and a finder guider using ZWO ASI120mm.
The Crescent Nebula by Mark Griffith, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK.
The Crescent Nebula by Mark Griffith, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK. Equipment: Teleskop service 12″ Richey-Chretien telescope, Skywatcher EQ8 mount,Atik 383L camera, Astronomik Ha, Oiii filters, Astro physics 0.67 reducer.
The Crescent Nebula by Stephen Dean, Isle of Wight, UK.
The Crescent Nebula by Stephen Dean, Isle of Wight, UK. Equipment: Skywatcher 80mm ED, SBIG 2000XM with Baader 7 nm Ha filter, NEQ6 Mount, Pixinsight.
The Crescent Nebula by Mark Griffith, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK.
The Crescent Nebula by Mark Griffith, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK. Equipment: Celestron C11 Sct, Skywatcher EQ8 pro mount,Atik 383L camera, motorised filter wheel and Astronomik filters. F6.3 focal reducer.
The Crescent Nebula by Patryk, Gloucester, UK.
The Crescent Nebula by Patryk, Gloucester, UK. Equipment: SW 120ED, SW x0.8, Sbig ST8300, AQ EQ6GT, Ha-5h, OIII-5h.
The Crescent Nebula by Chris Heapy, Macclesfield, UK.
The Crescent Nebula by Chris Heapy, Macclesfield, UK. Equipment: Televue NP127is, Atik490EX, Losmandy G11, TV Pronto Lodestar.
The Crescent Nebula by Francesco Di Cencio, Belluno, Italy, Dolomites.
The Crescent Nebula by Francesco Di Cencio, Belluno, Italy, Dolomites. Equipment: TS Triplet Apo 102 faltfield, TS Individual 152/900 Achro (for the Ha layer), Celestron CGE TDM, Magzero Qhy9