{"id":62605,"date":"2024-08-12T12:18:56","date_gmt":"2024-08-12T12:18:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/259dbe4f-8be3-44ea-9f24-27ee5dd8484b"},"modified":"2024-08-12T12:39:46","modified_gmt":"2024-08-12T12:39:46","slug":"the-crescent-nebula-is-a-cosmic-cloud-glowing-as-its-blasted-by-radiation-from-a-rare-type-of-star","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/the-crescent-nebula-is-a-cosmic-cloud-glowing-as-its-blasted-by-radiation-from-a-rare-type-of-star\/","title":{"rendered":"The Crescent Nebula is a cosmic cloud glowing as it’s blasted by radiation from a rare type of star"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

By <\/p>

Published: Monday, 12 August 2024 at 12:18 PM<\/p>

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

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

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

These are are massive stellar objects that are ageing and losing mass at an incredibly high rate.<\/p>

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.<\/p>

This violent and rapid ejection has produced a dense shell of scorching hot material that gives the nebula<\/a> 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.<\/p>

\"NGC
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<\/figcaption><\/figure>

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<\/a>.<\/p>

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

\"Sadr
Sadr represents the chest of the Cygnus swan. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Below is a selection of images of the Crescent Nebula captured by BBC Sky at Night Magazine<\/em> readers and astrophotographers from around the world.<\/p>

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

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

Pictures of the Crescent Nebula<\/strong><\/h2>
\"NGC
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<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"NGC
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<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
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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<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
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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<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
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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<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"Crescent
Crescent Nebula Andr\u00e9 van der Hoeven, Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, Netherlands, 2016\u20132019. Equipment: QSI 583ws mono camera, TMB 92SS apo refractor, Sky-Watcher NEQ6 mount<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"Crescent
Crescent Nebula Andr\u00e9 van der Hoeven, Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, Netherlands, 2016\u20132019. Equipment: QSI 583ws mono camera, TMB 92SS apo refractor, Sky-Watcher NEQ6 mount<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
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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.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
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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.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
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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.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"The
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.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"The
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.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
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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.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
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The Crescent Nebula by Patryk, Gloucester, UK. Equipment: SW 120ED, SW x0.8, Sbig ST8300, AQ EQ6GT, Ha-5h, OIII-5h.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
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The Crescent Nebula by Chris Heapy, Macclesfield, UK. Equipment: Televue NP127is, Atik490EX, Losmandy G11, TV Pronto Lodestar.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
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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<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div>