ESO/VVVX survey
You could forgive M17 to have an identity crisis. Observers refer to this region of issue such as Omega, Swan and even the Nebula Checkmark. M17 does not even know which constellation to call home – most stay in the Sagittarius, but its northern edge crosses Serpens. Yet nobody can deny the beautiful appearance of the star nursery. This infrared view penetrates most of the dust that obscures the cluster of grass stars that emerges inside M17. The astronomers have captured the swan, which lies 5,500 light years from the earth, with the visible and infrared telescope of 4.1 meters for the astronomy (view) located on the paranale di Cerro in Chile. The image is only a small piece of a giant infrared map that covers an area equal to 8,600 full moons. The survey required 13 years to complete and captured over 1.5 billion objects.
