M17

This is the Omega Nebula in Sagittarius, sometimes called the Swan Nebula, the Horseshoe Nebula, or the Lobster Nebula.   It is between 5000 and 6000 light years distant and contains the mass of about 800 suns.   A cluster of stars is embedded in the nebula and difficult to see. This series of three exposures dramatically illustrates the difference between imaging with an ordinary camera with film and two different CCD cameras mounted on a telescope. As you can see from the bottom exposure, the brightness and scale difference between the two techniques is amazing.

Taken about 1:30 a.m., July 28, 2009, with the ST-8 camera on the C-14 operating at F:7 - total exposure was 15 minutes

	Image taken September 14 Fastar Mode on the C-14 Exposure was 150 seconds
	This was taken the same night with the 300mm Nikkor lens and Fuji 800 color negative film Exposure is 5 minutes