[AZ-Observing] Le Gentil 3, dark nebula near Deneb

["Steve Coe" <stevecoe@xxxxxxxxx>]

Howdy all;

I made a trip to Eagle Eye last week and I was reminded of this large =
dark
nebula and I wanted to post about it.  If you have a wide field =
instrument
of any type, aim it at this area of the sky, there is lots to examine =
here.

Le Gentil 3 is also the Northern Coal Sack, this huge dark marking in =
the
Milky Way is between Cygnus and Cepheus, with the cluster M 39 at its =
edge.
It is impressive even with the naked eye and cuts the Milky Way right
through.  Even my wide field binoculars, 8X42 with a six degree field, =
don't
quite take it all in.  The central oval section fits with a lovely chain =
of
stars outlining the dark contour on the north and west sides.  I would
estimate that the central oval is 4 X 6 degrees and has 22 stars =
enveloped
within the dark cloud.  The "extension" from this dark oval is toward =
the
east it is about two degrees long and one degree wide with M 39 on its =
edge.
Moving up to the 4 inch f/6 RFT with a 22mm Panoptic eyepiece shows some
beautiful dark lanes that create a lace effect from the interplay of =
light
and dark.  All in all, a fascinating area; centered at 21h 13m and +50 =
42.=20

Clear Skies to us all;
Steve Coe



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[AZ-Observing] Le Gentil 3, dark nebula near Deneb