Cygnus and Cepheus Imaging Run - June 6th, 2019
June 4, 2019
The star Sadr (gamma Cygni) is the center point in the Cygnus Cross, and is surrounded by the emission nebula IC 1318. Here's the Sadr Region in bi-color, Ha and SII. - Ha 12 x 300 second exposures, SII 17 x 300 second exposures.
Crop of the above image of the Sadr Region:
Capturing Sadr - First target of the night. That's Jupiter, the point of light on the right.
On May 25th I captured the Eastern Veil Nebula in bi-color Ha and OIII. Last night I came back and captured the Western Veil Nebula with its distinctive "Witch's Broom" (NGC 6960). WilliamOptics GT81 APO Refractor and ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro mono camera: 14 x 300 second exp in Ha, 15 x 300 second exposures in OIII, combining them into the entire Veil Nebula.
The complete Veil Nebula in the constellation Cygnus! This is a two-image mosaic that covers an area of sky about 3° across, an area into which you can fit 36 full moons. The Western Veil on the right is the "Witch's Broom" (NGC 6960) and various other bands of ionized gas and dust. Pickering's Triangle is that brighter wedge-shaped mass of hydrogen and oxygen at the middle top, and the Eastern Veil (NGC 6992, NGC 6995, IC 1340) is the large crescent on the left. The latest estimates put the nebula about 1,470 lightyears away from us. So, relatively close, and if you were around 6,530 years ago--and watching the night sky--you might have seen the massive supernova that created this beautiful nebula. (The supernova kicked off around 8,000 years ago, but the light and violence of the star's ending would have taken almost 1,500 years to reach us).
Third target for the night of June 6th 2019 - A group of Nebulae and other interesting structures on the border between the constellations Cepheus and Cassiopeia. The large tentacled emission nebula is Sh 2-157 (I've heard this called the "Lobster Claw" and the "Squid Nebula"), toward the top is the Bubble Nebula (NGC 7635), with NGC 7510, NGC 7538 (bright emission nebula on the right)
Another shot from the Wyze Cam I use to watch the system. Here I was checking that the mount was parked and everything is stopped. We're in New Hampshire, and this time of year I usually can't schedule anything after 3:30am. It's 4:07am in this shot and you can see the glow from the sun over the trees at the end of the property.
