The Pelican Nebula

The Pelican Nebula

This image was taken with the KPNO/WIYN 0.9m telescope on May 24, 2002. It shows the “ionization front” in the Pelican nebula, a giant nearby star-formation region. The Pelican Nebula (IC 5070) is located in the constellation of Cygnus, the Swan. Its pillars are being sculpted by the intense ultraviolet radiation from massive stars which have recently formed within the nebula. 

The image was produced Oxygen [OIII] (blue), Hydrogen-Alpha (green) and Sulphur [SII] (red) narrowband filters. 7x6min in H-alpha, 4x6min in [OIII], 5x6min in [SII]. The image is rotated 135 degrees CW from North is up, East to the left.

Credit: T.A. Rector/University of Alaska Anchorage, National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab)/National Science Foundation (NSF)/Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA)

Image Date: May 24, 2002

Release Date: June 30, 2020

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