NGC 6618, Messier 17, M17, Omega Nebula, Swan Nebula in the constellation Sagittarius

LBN 60, Sh 2-45, Horseshoe Nebula, Swan Nebula, Omega Nebula, Checkmark Nebula, Messier 17, Bennett 108

Coordinates:

RA (2000): 18h 20m 47s
Dec (2000): -16° 10' 18″

NGC 6618 is an open galactic cluster surrounded by nebula known as Omega Nebula, Swan Nebula, Checkmark Nebula, Messier 17 or M17. The nebula is an H II region. The M17 complex is a molecular cloud surrounding M17 nebula and is located in the Sagittarius spiral arm (Elmegreen et al. 1979; Reid et al. 2019). The distance to the nebula is about 1.8 – 2 kpc (5870 – 6523 ly).

The M17 nebula is excited by a young (1 Myr-old) loose open cluster NGC 6618 which contains hundreds of stars with spectral types earlier than B9 (Lada et al. 1991). These young stars and causes the gases of the nebula to shine due to radiation from these hot, young stars.

Charts and image details obtained from Astrometry.net

Image and FOV details

RC 12" Astrograph (IRIDA South dome)

Imaging details