This interesting object lies 8000 light years away. Note the 4 bright stars on the left that form a sort of star lighted celestial runway leading into the nebula. They are well in the foreground of the object and play no part in ionizing it.

Planewave 12 1/2″ CDK Astrograph with an ST11000 camera, Astrodon filters, and ASA gearless DDM-60 mount. F/5 unguided LRGB
(42/6min L, 6/6min each 2×2 RGB).