Simeis 57 (DWB 111 & 119) – The Propeller Nebula

The Propeller Nebula is a fairly popular target for amateur astrophotographers in the extremely popular Cygnus X region—a gigantic star-forming complex in the Cygnus constellation at least 4,600 light years away. A recent study by L.H.T. Oudshoom, et al, has determined a distance of roughly 5,500 light years for the Propeller.

While Simeis 57 is the catalogue designation for the larger area around the image field, DWB 111 (the lower-left “blade” of the Propeller) and DWB 119 (the upper-right “blade” of the Propeller) are more specific catalogue designations. In 1969, H. R. Dickel, H. Wendker and J. H. Bieritz released a paper listing 193 distinct hydrogen-emission nebulas in the Cygnus X complex that has become known as the DWB Catalogue.

I currently have no plans to try to shoot all 193 of the DWB objects, but you never know what the future may hold. I’ve expended a lot of effort on the Cygnus constellation (as has anyone engaged in astrophotography for very long), so without yet investigating it, I suspect that I’ve already shot almost all of them at one time or another.