NGC 6888 "Crescent Nebula"
Click image to view entire frame
Telescope: RCOS 14.5” at Rowe, NM
Camera Filters: Red, Blue, Green, Hydrogen, Oxygen
Total exposure: 18 hours
Image width: 1/4 degree
NGC 6888 is an emission nebula at about 5000 light-years from the earth. The nebula is formed by high-velocity gases moving away from a Wolf-Rayet star and colliding with slower-moving gases ejected when that star shed its outer shell to become a Red Giant. It is a difficult object to image because of the many very faint complexities in the gas cloud.