NGC 6820 is a small reflection nebula near the open cluster NGC 6823 in Vulpecula. The reflection nebula and cluster are embedded in a large faint emission nebula called Sh 2-86. The whole area of nebulosity is often referred to as NGC 6820.
M27, the Dumbbell Nebula, is found three degrees to the east, and α Vulpecula three degrees to the west.
I personally see this small star-forming region as relatively unknown, not famous, and not imaged very often. It is faint Ha and a tiny bit of OIII. It took a lot of integration time to pull out all these details. But, I’m glad I did.
I really enjoy seeing the pillars of dust and gas blown into a shape similar to the “pillars of creation” in the famous Eagle Nebula. I love star-forming regions like this and I especially love finding bow shocks within them. I didn’t find any bow shocks here, but the young stars in the central cluster are doing a great job shaping and sculpting everything with their powerful stellar winds.
Details:
535, 5-min Ha
150, 1-min Lum
100, 1-min Red
100, 1-min Green
100, 1-min Blue
52.08 hours total integration.
Dithered every frame.
2X drizzled in PIX
ASI 2600mm Pro
-10C, 100-gain
550mm focal length. F5.5
Esprit 100ED
EQ6-R Pro mount
Locations:
My backyard: Bortle-7
CRO: Bortle-4
Big Bend National Park,
Texas: Bortle-1
Data collected August, September, and October 2024
Pixinsight, Registar, and Photoshop.