| Tulip Nebula | |
|---|---|
Tulip Nebula(Sh2-101) Image Courtesy Hunter Wilson |
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| Observation data: J2000.0 epoch | |
| Type | Emission |
| Right ascension | 71.60° |
| Declination | 2.80° |
| Distance | 6,000 ly (1,800 pc) |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 9.0 |
| Apparent dimensions (V) | 16' x 9' |
| Constellation | Cygnus |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Radius | - |
| Absolute magnitude (V) | - |
| Notable features | - |
| Other designations | Sharpless 101 |
| See also: Diffuse nebula, Lists of nebulae | |
The Tulip Nebula, or Sharpless 101 (Sh2-101) or the Cygnus Star Cloud is an emission nebula located in the constellation Cygnus. It is so named because it appears to resemble the outline of a tulip when imaged photographically. It was catalogued by astronomer Stewart Sharpless in his 1959 catalog of nebulae. It lies at a distance of about 6,000 light-years (5.7×1016 km; 3.5×1016 mi) from Earth.
The Tulip nebula, at least in the field seen from earth, is in close proximity to microquasar Cygnus X-1, site of one of the first suspected black holes. Cygnus X-1 is the brighter of the two stars (lower star) in close vertical proximity just to the right of the Tulip nebula in the image presented here.[1]
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