M17, also known as the Swan or Omega Nebula, is a large, diffuse emission nebula located in the constellation Sagittarius.

This nebula is one of the brightest and most active regions of ongoing star formation in our galaxy, and is home to numerous massive, young stars.

The striking colors visible in this nebula are produced by the ionization of immense clouds of hydrogen gas by the intense radiation emitted by these stars.

About the Deep Space Collection:

Shot entirely with my rooftop telescope from the urban skies of Buenos Aires, the Deep Space Collection features many objects observable only from the southern hemisphere.

All images in the collection were shot using individual narrowband filters which cut off most of the light and allow only very specific wavelengths to pass (the light emitted from ionized hydrogen, oxygen and sulfur), making it possible to photograph deep space objects even from the highly light polluted skies of the city.

The images from each separate filter are then processed individually, combined and mapped to RGB channels for a final color image.

Two different color mapping palettes were used in this collection: SHO, where sulfur is mapped to red, hydrogen to green and oxygen to blue in what is referred to as "Hubble Palette" processing (as used in the images the famous space telescope) and HOO, where hydrogen is mapped to red, and oxygen to blue and green.