C19, The Cocoon Nebula

The Cocoon Nebula, otherwise known as Caldwell 19 (C19), is a faint but beautiful nebula located about 4,000 light years away. It's located high in the Milky Way in the constellation of Cygnus the Swan. The Cocoon encloses a newly developing open cluster of stars, all about the size of our sun. Like many stellar nurseries, the Cocoon Nebula is an emission nebula (red colors), a reflection nebula (bluish haze), and an absorption nebula (dark lanes).  The massive star in the center of the above image blew a hole in the dense surrounding molecular cloud right in the direction we can see it. That star, which formed about 100,000 years ago, is the energy source for most of the of the reddish and bluish light emitted and reflected light from this nebula.

10" Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope at f6.3, with 40D modified Canon camera at Prime Focus
7 photos of 480 seconds each at ISO 1600 exposure
All 7 photos averaged together into one, and then brightness and contrast enhanced. The above is a cropped and 1/3 size version of the original.