IC 5146 (Caldwell 19)

Cocoon Nebula. Emission, Refection & Dark Nebulae, Cygnus

September 2023. Cave Creek Canyon Observatory, Arizona Sky Village

IC 5146 (also Caldwell 19, Sh 2-125, Barnard 168, and the Cocoon Nebula) is a reflection/emission nebula and Caldwell object in the constellation Cygnus. The NGC description refers to IC 5146 as a cluster of 9.5 mag stars involved in a bright and dark nebula. The cluster is also known as Collinder 470. The cluster is about 4,000 ly away, and the central star that lights it formed about 100,000 years ago; the nebula is about 12 arcmins across, which is equivalent to a span of 15 light years.
When viewing IC 5146, dark nebula Barnard 168 (B168) is an inseparable part of the experience, forming a dark lane that surrounds the cluster and projects westward forming the appearance of a trail behind the Cocoon. Also in the 7×4.6 degree image is the open cluster M39 towards top right and the dark nebula Barnard 363 (B363 in the top right corner.

Telescope: Askar FRA300pro f5
Mount: Astro Physics Mach-1
Camera: ZWO ASI6200MC pro
Guider: ZWO Off-Axis-Guider / ZWO120MM Mini
Filters: Optolong UV/IR Cut Filter (Luminance)

Lum: 56×5 mins = 280 mins

Total Imaging Time: 4h 40m

Data Imaged remotely over 6 nights during June, August & September 2023.
Data acquisition & Processing by David Churchill.