The Iris Nebula
(Click on Picture for larger view)
Click on image for larger view
Added September 29, 2019 ...
The Iris Nebula ... (NGC 7023)
I took this image on the night of Sunday, September, 29, 2019. The name is derived by its shape and color to that of an iris flower. This is a collection of 85 frames at 120 seconds each for a total of a 2 hour 50 minute exposure. The "Seeing" conditions were not very good with some very thin cirrus clouds drifting by. Plus, this target, from my location, is above the city lights of Savannah, which is to my north. I did use the Altair QuadBand light-pollution filter which did help eliminate some of the glare.
This is a reflection nebula located in the west central section of the far northern constellation of Cepheus. This nebula contains at its center an extremely young star named V380 Cep, which is believed to have burst into life just 5,500 years ago. Since incredibly young there is plenty of local dust surrounding the star, and when starlight hits the dust it's reflected to become the visible nebula.
The Techy Stuff: (For those who want to know)
Telescope: Orion ED80T CF Triplet Apochromatic Refractor
Camera: Altair Hypercam 294c Pro TEC
Filter: Altair QuadBand OSC CCD 2" Narrow Band
Camera Settings: 120 seconds at gain of 10,000 ... temp: 23°F (-5°C)
Capture Software: SharpCap Pro v3.2.6054 64 bit
Mount: Celestron AVX
Mount Control: Celestron PWI v2.2.3
Subframes: 85
Darks: 30
Bias: 30
Flats: 39
Guide Scope: Orion Magnificant Mini Autoguider
Guiding Software: PHD 2
Polar Alignment: QHY Pole Master
Stacking: Deep Sky Staker v4.2.2 64 bit
Post Procession: PixInsight & PhotoShop CC
Bortle Light Pollution zone: 4.5
Seeing Conditions: 7 (out of 10)
Temperature: 76F (24.4°C), Dew Point 71F (21.7°C)
Location: My Heavenly Garden Backyard, Savannah, GA
Return to Pat Prokop's Heavenly Backyard Astronomy Page