Sh 2-101, Tulpennebel
The Tulip Nebula was added to Stewart Sharpless' catalog of nebulae in 1959 and is numbered Sh 2-101. It lies in the middle of the dense Milky Way in
the constellation Cygnus and is located at a distance of about 6,000 light years (although this distance is to be treated with caution). The brightness of this
HII- region is given with 9mag, the apparent size with 16x9 arcminutes.
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In a 20" telescope nothing can be seen at the position without a filter. With UHC filter a very pale glow is visible.
The nebula is brightest around the two bright stars in the center. The dark indentation south of it is also still visible, all other structures require a bit more
patience. The nebular boundaries in the northwestern part are smooth, as the nebula gently fades into the dark sky background. The shape of a tulip can
definitely be guessed with time.
