M17 Swan Nebula
The Swan (or Omega) Nebula is one of the brightest and largest star-forming regions in our galaxy. It measures 15 light-years across and is about 5,000 light-years from Earth. It is visible in binoculars, and easily seen in small or larger telescopes. The brightness of the swan portion is cause by radiation from stars of NGC6618, the open cluster embedded in the nebula. Nebulas IC4706 and IC4707 appear on the left side of the image, but are actually considered part of the same HII region. North is at the bottom and a little to the left.

Scope/Mount: Orion ED80 Doublet Refractor with AstroTech AT2FF Field Flattener, Celestron CI-700 Mount
Camera: ZWO ASI1600MMC monochrome with ZWO LRGB filters
Guiding: QHY5L-IIM through Orion Thin OAG, PHD guiding software
Exposure: L:(48) 150 secs @ gain=60, RGB: each channel (20) 60 sec @ gain=139
Software: Nebulosity, PhotoShop CS2
Comment: 07-14-2018, Tierra del Sol, CA, slight haze, first light for new ASI1600 camera.