The North American and Pelican Nebula
This image includes two large nebulae found within the constellation Cygnus, not too far from the very bright star Deneb. The nebula on the left is the NGC7000 known as the North American Nebula. It was discovered in 1786 by William Herschel when he noted a faint patch of milky nebulosity while observing this spot in the sky. A century later in 1890 the German Astrophotographer Max Wolf took a long exposure photograph and noticed more clearly the characteristic shape and dubbed it the North American Nebula. Yes, you read that correctly, Max Wolf was an Astrophotographer back in the late 19th century! I can’t imagine (more…)