On June 22, I pointed my DWARF 3 at M17, the Omega Nebula, during our annual midsummer star party in Zwischenbergen, Germany. Also known as the Swan Nebula, M17 is a bright emission nebula and star-forming region in the constellation Sagittarius, around 5,500 light-years away.
Imaging M17 with the DWARF 3
This was one of my first deep-sky images with the DWARF 3 and mostly an experiment. M17 was sitting quite low above the horizon and due to the summer solstice here in northern Germany, the sky never reaches true astronomical darkness.
So I was curious: would the little smart telescope manage to capture the Omega Nebula anyway?
While we spent the warm evening talking, observing and generally enjoying the telescope meeting, the DWARF quietly collected 216 exposures at 15 seconds each. 54 minutes of total integration time.
At some point, another member became curious about my target and pointed his much larger telescope towards M17 as well. For a while, two very different setups were imaging the same nebula side by side. And while the larger setup was definitely quicker gathering light, I was quite happy with the result of my new companion.
Want to read more about the SWAT star party? SWAT midsummer star party in Zwischenbergen