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Object Type: Emission Nebula
Constellation: Sagittarius
Magnitude: 6.0
Size: 46' x 37'

Known alternately as the Swan, Omega, Horseshoe, or Lobster Nebula, M17 has a high surface brightness and is a wonderful sight in a telescope of any size. It is 5,900 light-years from the solar system and contains an open cluster still in the process of forming out of the gas contained in the nebula.

Equipment: 14" Meade LX200R/STL-11000M/Astrodon LRGB filters/Paramount ME
F-ratio: f/9.5
Exposure: RRGB: R 8 x 7 minutes, binned 2x2; G 8 x 2 minutes; B 8 x 2 minutes; GB binned 3x3
Date: August 19, 2006
Location: Landers, California, USA
Technical Notes: Individual exposures were obtained using CCDAutoPilot2 and then sigma combined. The RGB image was created in Registar 1.0. A high-pass filter of 8 pixels was selectively applied to the bright portions of the luminance image. The R channel was used as luminance and initially combined with the RGB image using an opacity of 50% to maintain color saturation. This LRGB image was then flattened and then combined again with the luminance image using an opacity of 100%.