230918- Sh2-114 "Flying Dragon" nebula
ASTRO:
type=HII Emission Nebula
const=Cygnus
mag=Not published; very faint
dist=There is no calculated distance available
size=There is no calculated size available
IMAGE:
location=EB Driveway
BrtlCls=4
exposure=CMOS OSC: 35x360s (3.5h)
EQUIPMENT:
optics=ES102CF APO / Stellarvue 0.8x rdcr, FL(eff.)=571mm, f(eff.)/5.6
camera=ZWO ASI2600MC-Pro
filter=Radian Triad Ultra QuadNB
mount=Celestron AVX EQ
guiding=Orion 60x240mm, ZWO ASI224MC
SOFTWARE:
acquisition=Stellarium, APT, PHD2
processing=PixInsight (RCAstro), Photoshop (APF-R), LrC
click image to enlarge
Sh2-114 (the "Flying Dragon" nebula) is a faint and rarely imaged nebula located in the constellation of Cygnus. It's wispy twisted shapes resemble a flying dragon with outstretched bat-like wings, a serpentine neck, and two aptly placed yellow stars for glowing eyes on its face. It is an unusual emission nebula that is thought to be sculpted by a combination of intense stellar winds emitted by nearby massive, hot, O and B-type stars interacting with magnetic fields within the interstellar medium.
The Flying Dragon is a cloud studied very little beyond its mere cataloging. It has a filamentous aspect, constituted by several overlapping arched strands. A semicircle shape with the concavity oriented towards the south and together with the nearby cloud Sh2-113, a bubble structure similar to a supernova remnant. However, no supernova remnants appear to currently be described in this region.
This is a very beautiful, but challenging object for amateur astro-imagers to capture due to its extremely faint luminosity.