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July’s deep sky for 2022: A wealth of summer nebulae

Deep sky: Huge swirls of red nebulous light with scattered stars.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jeffrey Horne in Nashville, Tennessee, captured this deep sky view of a nebulosity complex in Cygnus in July 2022. He wrote: “73.5 hours, taken over the course of 19 nights from Nashville (Bortle 8). This image is a wide swath of nebulosity in the center of the constellation Cygnus. It includes the Crescent Nebula, the Tulip Nebula, Wolf-Rayet 134, Cygnus X-1 black hole, and much more. I hope you enjoy this image as much as I enjoyed taking it!” Thank you, Jeffrey!

Photos of July’s deep sky

Enjoy these July deep-sky photos taken by members of the EarthSky community. Do you have a great photo to share? Submit it to us here.

Multiple swirls of red nebulosity behind dense but faint star field.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Miguel Ventura in Fafe, Portugal, captured this view of a nebulosity complex in Cygnus on July 24, 2022. He wrote: “I framed the area of the Swan constellation, one of the most imposing that we can appreciate high in the sky on these pleasant summer nights. The main stars of the Swan form an easily recognizable asterism also known as the Northern Cross. It’s formed with several bright stars, such as Deneb, Albireo and what is considered the ‘heart’ of the Swan, Sadr. This whole bit of sky, which is part of the Milky Way, has an immense amount of emission nebulae, whose reddish color is related to their hydrogen-based composition.” Thank you, Miguel!

Diffuse nebulae in the deep sky

Elongated swirl of red and blue nebulosity in star field.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Karl Diefenderfer in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, captured this view of NGC 6992, the Eastern Veil Nebula, on July 20, 2022. He wrote: “The Veil Nebula in the constellation Cygnus. No better way to beat the heat than to sit out under the stars and do some astrophotography!” Thank you, Karl!
Large cloud of yellow nebulosity behind star field with many bright stars.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Faiz A in Maryland captured this telescopic view of Messier 16 on July 24, 2022. He wrote: “Messier 16 is an emission nebula and star cluster that is a site of active star formation in the constellation of Serpens Cauda. M16 carries the popular names of the Eagle Nebula or Star Queen Nebula. It’s home to the Pillars of Creation, made famous by the Hubble Space Telescope’s close-up image of M16. These pillars are the location of new star formation and are sculpted by the stellar winds from nearby newborn stars. They can be seen in the center of this image. M16 lies at a distance of 7,000 light-years.” Thank you, Faiz!

More diffuse nebulae

Small, elongated swirl of red and blue nebulosity in a dense star field.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | David Hoskin in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, captured this telescopic view of diffuse nebula NGC 6960 on July 2, 2022. He wrote: “NGC 6960 (aka the Witch’s Broom Nebula) in the constellation Cygnus is part of the Veil Nebula, which is the remnant of a star that went supernova about 10,000 years ago. NGC 6960 spans about 35 light-years and is 1,400 light-years from Earth.” Thank you, David!
Large clouds of blue and orange nebulosity behind a scattered star field.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | James Carroll in Conway, Arkansas, captured this telescopic view of a section of NGC 7000, the North America Nebula, on July 25, 2022. He wrote: “The clouds parted and the moon set, so I turned my eye to the great Cygnus Wall (the Mexico part of the North America Nebula). The clouds parted long enough for me to gather the final data on this image. This region in particular is focused on the dark nebula B355. I am fascinated by these nebula as they bring such stark contrast in the nebulosity. I find it hauntingly beautiful. There is nothing quite like seeing the details and colors pop when you get to work on an image.” Thank you, James!

Planetary nebula

Green spherical cloud in a star field.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Michael Terhune in Lunenburg, Massachusetts, captured this telescopic view of Messier 27, a planetary nebula, on July 14, 2022. He wrote: “Here is my latest image of M27, the Dumbbell Nebula. This is an extremely bright and beautiful target this time of year and really worth going after. It consists of some very dim outer nebulosity and a very bright central core. And under some dark skies you can even see this target in binoculars.” Thank you, Michael!

Open clusters and star clouds

Band of reddish cloud of stars across star field.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jeremy Likness in Monroe, Washington, captured this view of the Milky Way across the constellation Cassiopeia on July 19, 2022. He wrote: “Hours of 2-minute exposures using my Sony Alpha 6300 reveal the Milky Way’s wall of stars, galaxies and nebulae that’s practically a ‘star map’ of who’s who in common targets. Visible targets include Messier 52 (a cluster), the Bow-tie Nebula, the Bubble Nebula and the Wizard Nebula. There are several other planetary and diffuse nebulae and galaxies to boot.” Thank you, Jeremy!
Tight cluster of dots of white light in a star field.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | David Hoskin in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, captured this telescopic view of open cluster Messier 11 on July 25, 2022. He wrote: “The Wild Duck Cluster (Messier 11) is an open star cluster located in the constellation Scutum. Its name comes from the cluster’s rough V-shape. The Wild Duck Cluster is densely populated, containing over 2,900 stars. It is 6,200 light-years from Earth.” Thank you, David!

Galaxies in the deep sky

Large yellowish disk-shaped object with a bright core.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | David Hoskin in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, captured this telescopic view of the Andromeda galaxy on July 27, 2022. He wrote: “The Andromeda galaxy (Messier 31), at 2.5 million light-years from Earth, is the nearest large galaxy. It has a barred spiral structure and over 20 satellite dwarf galaxies that include Messier 32 (middle left) and Messier 101 (bottom right). In 4 to 5 billion years, the Andromeda galaxy will collide with our Milky Way galaxy!” Thank you, David!
Yellowish spiral with a ball of light at the end of one arm.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jeremy Likness in Monroe, Washington, took this image on July 28, 2022. Jeremy wrote: “M51 is called the Whirlpool Galaxy because it presents a beautiful view of a grand design spiral galaxy swirling around another galaxy that appears to be attached by a long tendril.” Thank you, Jeremy!

Bottom line: Members of the EarthSky community shared these amazing photos of July’s deep sky.

Posted 
July 30, 2022
 in 
Today's Image

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