Crescent Nebula Region
I absolutely love the milky way region in Cygnus! It is rich in open clusters and spectacular nebulae.
Since my last post I've acquired a wide field refractor to be able to capture a wider field of view. It brings me the most joy to see the astronomic diversity in seeing so many different things going on in one picture.
About the Crescent Nebula
The Crescent Nebula (NGC 6888) is a 25-light year wide emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus. This “cosmic bubble” in space owes it's striking appearance to a central Wolf-Rayet star that pushes the hydrogen and oxygen atoms outward.
The star is shedding its outer envelope in a strong stellar wind, ejecting the equivalent of the Sun's mass every 10,000 years.
Constellation: Cygnus
Image Center RA = '20 14 14.527'
Image Center DEC = '+38 44 19.335'
Distance: ~ 5,000 lys
Magnitude: 7.4
Hubble Palette
RGB with Ha added
RGB
Ha
CAPTURE INFO
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Scope Centering:
Image Center RA = '20 14 14.527'
Image Center DEC = '+38 44 19.335'
Bandwidths:
R, G, B, Ha
Bias: Yes
Darks: Yes
Flats: Yes
Flat Darks: Yes
Dates Captured:
August 4, 2021
August 13, 2021
August 14, 2021
August 15, 2021
August 16, 2021
GUIDING NOTES:
excellent, averaging ~0.7 RMS
EQUIPMENT
Optics:
William Optics ZenithStar 61ii Doublet Refractor @ 360mm FL
William Optics Adjustable Field Flattener 61A for Z61
Camera: ZWO 294mm Pro (mono)
Filter Wheel: ZWO 8 position, .36" filters
Filters:
- L (Baader Planetarium LRGB 36 mm Round CCD Filter )- R (Baader Planetarium LRGB 36 mm Round CCD Filter )
- G (Baader Planetarium LRGB 36 mm Round CCD Filter )
- B (Baader Planetarium LRGB 36 mm Round CCD Filter )- Ha (ZWO 36 mm Round @ 7nm wavelength)
- Sii (ZWO 36 mm Round @ 7nm wavelength)
- Oiii (ZWO 36 mm Round @ 7nm wavelength)
Mount:
- Losmandy GM811- RAEXT EXTENSION DOVETAIL- Losmandy 12" Tripod Extension- Losmandy SADDLE PLATE FOR G-11 MOUNT- Losmandy LW Tripod- Alt-AZ/Elevation Tensioning bolts and washers (Michael Herman's)
Guiding:
- ZWO 120mm mini (red filter)- William Optics 32mm f/3.75 UniGuide Guidescope- PHD2 Software (2.6.9 Dev 5)- Multistar option- RA algorithm: Predictive PEC- Dec algorithm: Resist Switch- Used previous calibration- Dither: Small, every 2 frames
Acquisition:
- ASI Air Polar Alignment
- Mini PC Beelink T4 @ scope
- MS Windows Remote Desktop to mini PC
- Sequence Generator Pro 3.2.660
- Flats & FlatDarks using NINA Flat Wizard
