August 2017 - Picture of the Month
IC 1318 (Gamma Cygni Nebula) in the Constellation of Cygnus
I know that many of our members live for views of galaxy groups outside the plane of the Milky Way, but I'm a galactic person, and this is one of my favourite areas of the night sky.
David's filtered widefield image (I'd guess more than 5 degrees across) is packed with my usual targets: open clusters. What's so striking is that they're almost drowned out by nebulae including IC1318 A, B and C; a host of dusty dark nebulae; and the Crescent Nebula (NGC 6888).
Whether my sky is dark enough to even catch a glimpse I shall see, but my UHC and OIII filters are on standby for late summer and early autumn.
James Whinfrey - Website Administrator.