A personal composite made on Christmas 2016 of a section of the star-forming Omega Nebula (Messier 17). This canvas consists of three separate images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope through narrow-band 502 (OIII), 656 (H-alpha), and 673 (SII) nm filters. The Omega Nebula (a.k.a. Swan Nebula, Checkmark Nebula, or Horseshoe Nebula) is an H II region in the constellation Sagittarius. It was discovered in 1745 and catalogued by Messier in 1764. The Nebula is between 5,000 and 6,000 light-years from Earth and spans ~15 light-years in diameter. It is considered one of the brightest and most massive star-forming regions of our galaxy. #astronomy #astrophotography #hubble #space #telescope #starformation #astronomicalimageprocessing #omeganebula #nebula #messier17 #messier #swannebula #checkmarknebula #horseshoenebula #stargazing #themilkyway