NGC 6520
This is a wide-field image of the open star cluster NGC 6520 and nearby dust cloud Barnard 86, which is located in one of the most dense parts of our Galaxy. A zoom-in image from Gemini South is also available on this website. The bright young stars of this star cluster, which probably formed out of gas related to the nearby dust cloud, stand out in contrast to the background of older stars of the bulge of our Galaxy. If you look closely at the full-resolution you can find three planetary nebulae (PN G003.0-02.8, PN G002.9-03.0 and PN G002.9-02.6). Can you find them?
| Observatory: | Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory Cerro Tololo, Chile |
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| Telescope: | CTIO 4-Meter |
| Instrument: | Mosaic II |
| Astronomer: | T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage) and T. Abbott (NOAO/AURA/NSF) |
| Date of Observation: | 07-24-2007 |
| Filters and Assigned Colors: | U (violet), B (blue), V (green), I (orange) and H-alpha (red) |
| Exposure Times: | 5x2min for BVI, 5x5min for U and H-alpha |
| Location of Image: | Sagittarius |
| Field of View: | 36.0 x 35.8 arcmin |
| Orientation: | North is left, East is down |
| Link to Larger Image | |
| Link to Full Resolution Image | |
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