Wednesday, December 26, 2018

SH2-112

SH2-112 is an H2 region located approximately 5600 light years away in the constellation Cygnus. Data for this image was captured across multiple nights in October, November, and December of 2018. Due to limited clear nights I was not able to capture as much data as I would have liked before this disappeared for the season, so this project may continue next year as well.

Details:
Ha: 88 x 300s, Gain 300
OIII: 48 x 300s, Gain 300

Gear:
Scope: AT6RC
Camera: ASI1600MM Pro
Filters: Astronomik 6n Hydrogen Alpha; Astronomik 6nm Oxygen III

Processed in Pixinsight


NGC 7822

This image did not quite turn out how I was hoping. The framing is 90 degrees off where I wanted nit but I was imaging other targets as well and did not want to through off the orientation of everything else. Additionally, the OIII did not "pop" as much as I has hoped. I have seen other images of this region where the OIII signal is quite strong. I am thinking that I might need to bump up my exposure time, even with the high gain settings. I will definitely revisit this target in the near future, hopefully I will have an S2 filter by then.

Info:
NGC 7822 is a star forming region located 3000 light years away in the constellation Cepheus. The molecular cloud complex which gives rise to the visible nebula is known as the radio source W1 (Westerhout 1), one of the largest molecular cloud complexes in the Milky Way.

Image details:
Data for this image was captured over multiple nights in central Missouri from October-December 2018.

This image consists of ionized oxygen and hydrogen lines at 6nm, with hydrogen mapped to red and oxygen mapped to green and blue.

HA: 123 x 300s, Gain 300
O3: 80 x 300s, Gain 300
16.9 hours total data

Gear:
Scope: AT6RC Ritchey–Chrétien
Camera: ASI1600MM Pro
Filters: Astronomik 6nm

Processed in Pixinsight and CS6
Captured with Sequence Generator Pro


Monday, December 24, 2018

NGC 7380: The Wizard Nebula

This is one of those targets that never feels like it has enough time. This image was an experiment of sorts, as I was testing high gain imaging along with shorter 240s subs. It seems crazy to even attempt narrowband through an f/9 scope with 240s subs, but they worked surprisingly well with this camera. In hindsight I wish I would have gone 300, but overall pretty happy.

Description: Located 7200 light years away, the Wizard nebula, surrounds developing open star cluster NGC 7380. Visually, the interplay of stars, gas, and dust has created a shape that appears to some like a fictional medieval sorcerer. The active star forming region spans about 100 light years, making it appear larger than the angular extent of the Moon.

Details:
6nm HA: 124x240s, Gain 300
6nm OIII: 131x240s, Gain 300

Camera: ASI1600MM Pro
Scope: AstroTech AT6RC
Filters: Astronomik 6nm Ha/OIII
Mount: Atlas EQG

Processed in Pixinsight