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Rolf's Astrophotography
  • An Astrophotography Journey!
  • Clusters
    • Globular Clusters
      • M13 – Hercules Cluster
      • M92
    • Open Clusters
      • M39
      • M45 – The Pleiades
      • M52
      • NGC 869 and NGC 884 – Perseus Double Cluster
  • Galaxies
    • Elliptical Galaxies
      • Markarian’s Chain with M84, M86, and M87
      • NGC 1272, NGC 1275 – The Perseus Cluster
      • NGC 3613, NGC 3619, and NGC 3625
      • NGC 3998
      • NGC 4889 and other galaxies in Coma Berenices
      • PGC 2641182
    • Irregular Galaxies
      • M82 – Cigar Galaxy
      • NGC 4449
    • Spiral Galaxies
      • IC 342
      • M101 – Pinwheel Galaxy
      • M102 – Spindle Galaxy
      • M106
      • M31 – Andromeda Galaxy
      • M33 – Triangulum Galaxy
      • M51 – Whirlpool Galaxy
      • M63 – Sunflower Galaxy
      • M64 – Black Eye Galaxy
      • M65, M66, and NGC 3628 – The Leo Triplet
      • M81 – Bodes Galaxy
      • M94
      • NGC 2683 – UFO Galaxy
      • NGC 2775
      • NGC 2841
      • NGC 3184
      • NGC 3642
      • NGC 4236
      • NGC 4244 – Silver Needle Galaxy
      • NGC 4490 – Cocoon Galaxy
      • NGC 4565 (C38) – Needle Galaxy
      • NGC 4631 (Whale Galaxy) and NGC 4656
      • NGC 5005
      • NGC 5216, NGC 5218 – Keenan’s System
      • NGC 5907 – Knife Edge Galaxy
      • NGC 6946 – Fireworks Galaxy
      • NGC 925 – Amatha Galaxy
    • The Milky Way
  • Nebulas
    • Dark Nebulas
      • IC 434 – Horsehead Nebula
      • NGC 2264 – Cone Nebula and Christmas Tree Cluster
    • Emission Nebulas
      • IC 1396 – Elephant’s Trunk Nebula
      • IC 1805 – Heart Nebula
      • IC 1848 – Soul Nebula
      • IC 2177 – Seagull Nebula
      • IC 405 – Flaming Star Nebula
      • IC 5070 – Pelican Nebula
      • IC 5146 – Cocoon Nebula
      • IC 59 and IC 63 – Gamma Cassiopeia Nebula
      • M42 – Orion Nebula
      • NGC 1499 – California Nebula
      • NGC 2174 – Monkey Head Nebula
      • NGC 2237 – Rosette Nebula
      • NGC 2359 – Thor’s Helmet
      • NGC 281 – Pacman Nebula
      • NGC 6888 – Crescent Nebula
      • NGC 7000 – North America Nebula
      • NGC 7635 – Bubble Nebula
      • NGC 7822
      • NGC 896
      • Sadr and the Gamma Cygni Nebula (IC 1318)
      • Sh2-155 – Cave Nebula
    • Planetary Nebulas
      • Abell 21 – Medusa Nebula
      • M27 – Dumbbell Nebula
      • M57 – Ring Nebula
      • M76 – Little Dumbbell Nebula
      • M97 – Owl Nebula
    • Reflection Nebulas
      • IC 2118 – Witch Head Nebula
      • M78
      • NGC 7023 – Iris Nebula
    • Supernova Remnants
      • M1 – Crab Nebula
      • NGC 6960 – Veil Nebula
  • Solar System
    • Comets
    • The Moon
    • Jupiter
    • Mars
    • Saturn
  • The Gear
    • APO107 Configuration Example
    • APO94 Configuration Example
    • AstroTrac TT320X and Nikon D800 DSLR Configuration Example
    • MN190 Configuration Example
    • RC8″ Configuration Example
    • Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro Equatorial Mount
Rolf's Astrophotography

IC 5146 – Cocoon Nebula

IC 5146, the Cocoon Nebula, is a reflection/emission nebula and Caldwell object in the constellation Cygnus. The NGC description refers to IC 5146 as a cluster of 9.5 mag stars involved in a bright and dark nebula. The cluster shines at magnitude +10.0/+9.3/+7.2. It is located near the naked-eye star Pi Cygni.

The cluster is about 4 000 ly away, and the central star that lights it formed about 100,000 years ago. The nebula is about 12 arcmins across, which is equivalent to a span of 15 light years.

IC 5146 is a stellar nursery where star-formation is ongoing. Young stars are seen in both the emission nebula, where gas has been ionized by massive young stars, and in the infrared-dark molecular cloud that forms the “tail”. The most-massive stars in the region is BD +46 3474, a star of class B1 that is an estimated 14±4 times the mass of the sun.

IC 5146, Cocoon Nebula
IC 5146, Cocoon Nebula
A very early attempt to photograph the Cocoon Nebula with my CPC 925 reflector telescope and the Nikon D800 DSLR camera in Stuvsta, October 2015.
IC 5146, Cocoon Nebula
IC 5146, Cocoon Nebula
IC 5146, the Cocoon Nebula, is a reflection/emission nebula and Caldwell object in the constellation Cygnus. The NGC description refers to IC 5146 as a cluster of 9.5 mag stars involved in a bright and dark nebula. The cluster shines at magnitude +10.0/+9.3/+7.2. It is located near the naked-eye star Pi Cygni. The cluster is about 4 000 ly away, and the central star that lights it formed about 100,000 years ago. The nebula is about 12 arcmins across, which is equivalent to a span of 15 light years. IC 5146 is a stellar nursery where star-formation is ongoing. Young stars are seen in both the emission nebula, where gas has been ionized by massive young stars, and in the infrared-dark molecular cloud that forms the “tail”. The most-massive stars in the region is BD +46 3474, a star of class B1 that is an estimated 14±4 times the mass of the sun. Photographed with the APO107 mm refractor telescope and the Atik 360EX monochrome CCD camera in Åva, March 2021. Exposure was a total of 97 min LHaRGB.
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