28 Jul 2024
IC 5146, (also known as C 19), is an open cluster related to a diffuse nebula visible in the constellation Cygnus.
It is located 3.5 degrees east of M39, in the northern part of the constellation; It is invisible with binoculars, you need a 150mm telescope to appreciate the object minimally. It is a small cluster surrounded by a very small nebula (cocoon-shaped), connected in turn to a system of dark nebulosities, known by the abbreviation B 168, which extends for about 2 degrees in the direction of M39, very evident even with small instruments as it obscures a rich stellar field. The main star of the cluster has magnitude 9.74 (but probably it appears only in "superimposition" for perspective reasons, because its distance would be shorter than that of the cluster). This set of nebulae would have a distance from the Sun equal to about 3300 light-years.
IC 5148
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