NGC 6726: Exploring the Beauty of this nebula.

NGC 6726

I imaged the beautiful reflection nebula NGC 6726 twice over the years, both times during stays at the astrofarm Tivoli in Namibia. My first image was captured in 2013 using the equipment of a rented observatory, allowing me to record the intricate structures of this fascinating nebula in remarkable detail. In 2015, I revisited the region with a 200 mm telephoto lens, producing a much wider-field image that not only included NGC 6726 but also its neighboring reflection nebulae, dark dust clouds, and the rich stellar environment of the southern Milky Way. The two images beautifully complement one another, one emphasizing fine detail and the other showcasing the nebula within its spectacular surroundings.

NGC 6726 is located in the constellation Corona Australis, approximately 430 light-years from Earth. It forms part of the Corona Australis Molecular Cloud Complex, one of the nearest active star-forming regions to the Solar System. Unlike emission nebulae, reflection nebulae do not shine by their own light. Instead, tiny dust particles scatter the blue light of nearby young stars, giving NGC 6726 its characteristic bluish appearance.

The nebula is illuminated primarily by the young variable star TY Coronae Australis, whose light is reflected by the surrounding dust clouds. Adjacent to NGC 6726 lie the reflection nebulae NGC 6727 and NGC 6729, together forming one of the most attractive reflection nebula complexes in the southern sky. The entire region is threaded with dark molecular clouds and intricate dust lanes that create a striking contrast between bright and obscured areas.

The Corona Australis cloud complex is an active stellar nursery containing numerous young stellar objects, T Tauri stars, and dense Bok globules. Many of these young stars are still deeply embedded within their natal molecular clouds, making the region an important laboratory for studying the earliest stages of stellar evolution. Infrared observations have revealed dozens of protostars hidden within the dust, many of which remain invisible at optical wavelengths.

One of the most remarkable features of the wider field is the spectacular network of dark nebulae catalogued by Edward Emerson Barnard. These dense clouds of interstellar dust absorb the background light of the Milky Way and frame the bright reflection nebulae, producing one of the most photogenic regions of the southern sky. The wide-field image from 2015 captures this beautiful interplay between glowing dust, dark molecular clouds, and countless foreground and background stars.

The wider field also includes the beautiful globular cluster NGC 6723, located only a few degrees from the reflection nebulae. At a distance of approximately 28,000 light-years, NGC 6723 is one of the prominent globular clusters projected against the rich star fields near the Galactic Center. It contains several hundred thousand ancient stars with an estimated age of around 12 billion years, making it one of the oldest stellar systems in the Milky Way.

Unlike the nearby reflection nebulae, which are regions of ongoing star formation, NGC 6723 represents a stellar population that formed during the earliest epochs of our Galaxy. The striking contrast between the young, dust-enshrouded stars of the Corona Australis molecular cloud and the ancient stars of NGC 6723 beautifully illustrates the enormous range of stellar ages contained within a single wide-field image, spanning almost the entire history of the Milky Way.

The images obtained in 2013 and 2015 illustrate two complementary perspectives of this remarkable region. The first emphasizes the delicate structures of NGC 6726 itself, while the second reveals its relationship to the surrounding nebulae and dark clouds within the Corona Australis star-forming complex. Together, they provide a comprehensive view of one of the nearest and most beautiful stellar nurseries in our Galaxy.

For the 2015 data the data calibration and registration, as well as the final image processing, were all done with PixInsight.