The Sadr Region of the Milky Way
The bright star at the centre of the constellation of Cygnus (the Swan) is Sadr. In late summer, it has our attention because it is overhead in the evening if you live in the northern hemisphere. In cities with light pollution, it helps locate an adjacent spiral arm in our Milky Way galaxy. Point a telescope there, and it reveals a beautiful tapestry of stars and interstellar dust. The telltale red colour suggests hot hydrogen in a star-forming region.
The bright star at the centre of this photo is Sadr, at a distance of only 1,800 light years, it is certainly nearby, as is the adjacent spiral arm.
I photographed the Sadr Region from my garden in Strasbourg France on a single night in August 2024. This is an ensemble of 80 photographs, where each was a 3 minute exposure (4 hours of astrophotography).
Sadr Region - Wikipedia
