NGC 6914, NGC 6914A (vdB 131), NGC 6914B (vdB 132)
Constellation: Cygnus
Distance: 5,000 ly
Type: Emission Nebula
Imaging Location: Didsbury AB Canada
Imaging Platform: AT8IN Canon 40D MPCC
Mount: CGEM
Guiding Setup: SSAG Orion Short Tube 80
Exposure:17x600
Date: 2010-10-01
Software: Images Plus, PHD, Photoshop CS4
NGC 6914 is a complex of emission and reflection clouds nearby to the IC 1318 region. The reflection clouds are catalogued separately as NGC 6914A (vdB131) and NGC 6914B (vdB 32), south and north respectively. The illuminating stars of the nebula belong to the Cygnus OB2 association. This massive grouping of young stars is arguably the most massive and extensive stellar association in the Milky Way. It contains about 2600 OB type spread across 200 light years of space. Its total gaseous mass is estimated to be several hundred thousand solar masses. The stars are mostly obscured by the extensive dust clouds of the Milky Way in that area known as the great rift.