The Al Khatem Astronomical Observatory, located in the Abu Dhabi desert, was able to photograph a distinctive nebula called the “Tulip Flower” due to its shape that resembles that flower. It is an emission nebula located in the Cygnus constellation and is composed mainly of hydrogen gas with a little oxygen and sulfur. It is 6,000 light years away from us and light needs 70 years to travel from one end to the other.
Ultraviolet radiation from surrounding stars ionizes the gas. This is why the colors appear green, blue, and red. The blue bubble, caused by ionization from the bright star at the top right of the center of the image, is clearly visible in the image.
This image was taken using the 14-inch Al Khatem Observatory main telescope in Abu Dhabi. The image is a composite of 236 images taken with hydrogen (green), oxygen (blue) and sulfur (red) filters, with each image exposed for 3 minutes, for a total exposure of approximately 12 hours. After processing, the hydrogen gas appears orange and the oxygen gas appears blue.
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