The Pelican Nebula, cataloged as IC 5070, is a sprawling emission nebula in Cygnus whose glowing hydrogen clouds and dark dust lanes trace the outline of a pelican across the sky. Its rich structure responds beautifully to narrowband imaging, where H-alpha, OIII, and SII filters reveal intricate ridges, ionization fronts, and towering columns of gas. Because the nebula spans a large area of sky, it is well suited to wide-field refractors and fast astrographs that capture its full extent alongside neighboring nebulosity. Long integration times and dark skies help bring out the faint tendrils and subtle contrast that make this a rewarding target for deep-sky photographers.
Names and Catalog numbers
- Pelican Nebula
- LBN 350
- IC 5070
Position and the cosmic neighborhood
The Pelican Nebula lies in the northern constellation Cygnus at a right ascension of 20h 51m and a declination of +44° 22′, placing it high in the summer Milky Way for northern observers. It shares its region of sky with the far larger North America Nebula, from which it is separated by a dense band of foreground dust, and the two are often framed together in a single wide-field mosaic. Set against the bright star fields of the Cygnus Milky Way, this stretch of sky offers an exceptionally rich backdrop for photographers, with abundant surrounding nebulosity and countless embedded stars.
Nice to Know
- Its distinctive shape, resembling a pelican in profile, gives the nebula its popular name and makes it instantly recognizable in images.
- It carries the catalog designations IC 5070 and LBN 350, reflecting its listing among both index and bright nebula catalogs.
- At roughly 1,890 light-years away, it is a relatively nearby emission region, allowing fine detail to be resolved in long-exposure astrophotography.
- It pairs naturally with the neighboring North America Nebula, and the two are frequently captured together in expansive wide-field compositions.
Brightness, distance and size
It lies about 1,890 light-years from Earth.
