IC5146 - CoCoon Nebula

 

IC 5146 (also Caldwell 19, Sh 2-125, Barnard 168, and 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 is also known as Collinder 470. It shines at magnitude +10.0 +9.3 +7.2. Its celestial coordinates are RA 21^h 53.5^m , dec +47° 16′. It is located near the naked-eye star Pi Cygni, the open cluster NGC 7209 in Lacerta, and the bright open cluster M39. 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.

When viewing IC 5146, dark nebula Barnard 168 (B168) is an inseparable part of the experience, forming a dark lane that surrounds the cluster and projects westward forming the appearance of a trail behind the Cocoon. From Wikipedia.

The above image is made up 0f 60 four minute (totaling 240 minutes) using a ZWO ASI533 mounted to an AT6RC scope attached to an AP900 mount.  Auto guiding was accomplished using an 80mm refractor piggybacked on the AT6RC with a ZWO ASI120 camera.  Imagine capture and processing was accomplished using AstroArt 8.

M76 - Little Dumbbell Nebula

 

The Little Dumbbell Nebula, also known as Messier 76, NGC 650/651, the Barbell Nebula, or the Cork Nebula,^[is a planetary nebula in northern constellation Perseus. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1780 and included in Charles Messier's catalog of comet-like objects as number 76. It was first recognised as a planetary nebula in 1918 by the astronomer Heber Doust Curtis. However, there is some contention to this claim, as Isaac Roberts in 1891 did suggest that M76 might be similar to the Ring Nebula (M57), being instead as seen from the side view. The structure is now classed as a bipolar planetary nebula (BPNe), denoting two stars which have burst, leaving neutron star or white dwarf remnants and luminous envelopes. From Wikipedia.

The M76 images were captured at the 2022 Okie-Tex Star party near Kenton, OK.  A ZWO ASI533 mounted on to an AT6RC was used to capture the images.  The above image is made up of 45 five minutes exposures (total of 225 minutes).  Processing was preformed using AstroArt 8 sp1.  The AT6RC was mounted on a AP900 mount and auto guided using an 80mm refractor and a ZWO ASI 120 piggybacked on the AT6RC using PHD2 guide software.