Nights at Melinda Heights
Astro-imaging Under The City Lights
For a full size image click here.
Distance: 7,500 Light Years
Magnitude: 18.3
Size: 150 Arc Minutes
Telescope: Borg 71
Camera: QSI683
Mount: AP1100
Exposures: SII 29×600 Bin 2, Ha 38×1200 Bin 1, OIII 36×600 Bin 2
This image was captured from my home in a Bortle 6/7 zone.
IC 1805, the Heart Nebula, is a large emission nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia. It is also identified as SH2-190 in the Sharpless catalog. The brightest part of the Heart nebula is a star cluster at the center of the Heart. This cluster is known as Melotte 15 and contains several massive stars. There is also an interesting gaseous structure rising from the middle of the cluster. This structure is in constant change due to the radiation of the massive stars in this cluster.
Also captured in the upper right of my image is NGC 896, commonly called the Fish Head nebula. It is also cataloged as IC 1795. It is the brightest nebula in this image due to the young and massive stars that remain hidden behind the gas in the area.
LRGB Image:
Exposures: L 29×300 Bin 1, R 30×180 Bin 2, G 30×180 Bin 2, B 30×180 Bin 2
For a full size version click here.
For a full size image click here.
Object Name: LDN 1235 Region
Distance: 650 Light Years
Magnitude: Vdb 149 9.0 VdB 150 8.4
Telescope: Borg 71
Camera: QSI683
Mount: AP1100
Exposures: L 18×420 Bin 1, R 24×210 Bin 2, G 30×210 Bin 2, B 30×210 Bin 2
This image was captured from my home in a Bortle 6 zone. It is possible to capture low brightness dark nebula from the city lights. I had a battle with some light pollution gradients so it was either choose between a lighter background showing a bit more dust or darkening up the background. I chose the latter.
LDN 1235 is a dark nebula that appears as the eye of a shark in my image. LDN 1235 is part of a larger dust area with a shape that resembles a shark with its mouth open. LDN 1235 is located in the constellation Cepheus and is classified as an Extended Red Emission nebula.
Also in my image are VdB 149 and VdB 150. VdB 149 is located on the belly of the shark and is a magnitude 9 reflection nebula. VdB 150 is located on the top of the head close to the dorsal fin and it is a magnitude 8.4 reflection nebula.
There is a small and distant galaxy named PGC 67671. It is behind the dorsal fin and just above the body of the shark. Not much is known about this galaxy but it has had some recent supernovas.
For a full size image click here.
Object Name: The Cave Nebula Region
Distance: 2,400 Light Years
Magnitude: 7.7
Size: 45×50 Arc Minutes
Telescope: Borg 71
Camera: QSI683
Mount: AP1100
Exposures: L 24×300 Bin 1, R 36×180 Bin 2, G 36×180 Bin 2, B 36×180 Bin 2
This image was captured from my home in a Bortle 6 zone. I did battle with some light pollution issues but that is the way it goes when imaging from the city lights. This is a problem I have from time to time and is made worse when wide field imaging.
The Cave Nebula, also known as SH2-155 or Caldwell 9, is an emission nebula that also contains a large dark nebula and smaller reflection nebula. It is located in the constellation of Cepheus and is about 2,400 light years away. The dark nebula also known as LBN 529 forms the cave part of the nebula and its shape stands out from the contrasting emission nebula on the curved part of the cave. The source of illumination is a group of young stars called the Cepheus OB3 Association. These stars are very young at an estimated age of 100,000 years. LBN 527 is just to the right of the cave area.
To the right and slightly below the Cave nebula is LBN 524 (VdB 155). Also in this same area are dark nebula LDN 1215 and LDN 1216. On the other side of the Cave nebula and slightly below are dark nebula LDN 1218, LDN 1220, and LDN 1222.
For a full size image click here.
Object Name: VdB 158 Region
Distance: 1,400 Light Years
Magnitude: 9 for VdB 158
Size: 1.5 degrees for LBN 534
Telescope: Borg 71
Camera: QSI683
Mount: AP1100
Exposures: L 18×420 Bin 1, R 24×210 Bin 2, G 24×210 Bin 2, B 24×210 Bin 2
This image was captured from my home in a Bortle 6 zone. I was fortunate to not have any light pollution issues in this image.
VdB 158 is a reflection nebula located in the constellation Andromeda. It is illuminated by a bright Type B star identified as HD 222142 and is seen at the top of the check marked shape dust cloud.
The dust cloud that is the shape of a checkmark is LBN 534 or GAL 110-13. It is about 1.5 degrees long.
NGC 7686 is a small open star cluster at the right middle edge of my image. It contains approximately 80 stars.
For a full size image click here.
Object Name: M78 Region
Distance: 1,350 Light Years
Magnitude: 8.3
Size: 8 x 6 Arc Minutes
Telescope: Borg 71
Camera: QSI683
Mount: AP1100
Exposures: L 24×300 Bin 1, R 36×180 Bin 2, G 36×180 Bin 2, B 36×180 Bin 2
This is my attempt at the M78 region with a wide field telescope. Messier 78 is also known as NGC 2068. The above image was captured from my house in a Bortle 6 zone.
Messier 78 is a reflection nebula in the constellation Orion. M78 is in the center of my image and consists of NGC 2064, NGC 2067, NGC 2068, and NGC 2071. The large, bright nebula in the center is NGC 2068. To the right is NGC 2067. Above these two are NGC 2071. Above NGC 2071 is a small reflection nebula but I have not been able to identify it.
There is a lot of dust in this region that hides the young hot stars that are forming in this area. Both Messier 78 and NGC 2071 are the result of these young stars blasting away the surrounding gas and dust creating a vast void in the surrounding dust. Eventually these two reflection nebula will join as one larger nebula as the surrounding dust is ejected by new star formation. There are approximately 192 newly discovered stars and 45 T Tauri stars in Messier 78. T Tauri stars are proto stars that have not started the fusion process.
There are 21 Herbig-Haro objects in this region and several are seen in my image. The HH objects are narrow jets of ejected gas from newly formed stars that collide with surrounding gas and dust. They appear as a reddish jet set against the dark dusty background. There is also an unusual nebula that has appeared in recent photographs that was not present before. McNeil’s Nebula was recently discovered and appears and disappears at times. It is visible in my image as a fan shaped object below M78 in the top portion of the dust cloud just to the right of two side by side stars.
The red nebula seen in the upper left corner is part of Barnard’s loop which is an emission nebula that partially circles the belt of the constellation Orion. It is cataloged as SH2-276. Part of a star cluster NGC 2112 is seen at the far left and middle of my image.
For a full size image click here.
Object Name: North American + Pelican Region 4 Panel Mosaic
Distance: 1,600-1,800 Light Years
Magnitude: 5 NA Nebula. Magnitude 8 for Pelican Nebula.
Telescope: Borg 71
Camera: QSI683
Mount: AP1100
Exposures: HA 23×600 Bin 1 Per Panel x 4 Panels.
I captured this image from my home in a Bortle 6 zone. It is a 4 panel mosaic done in HA only.
NGC 7000, commonly called the North America nebula, is a large emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus. Much of Cygnus has the Milky Way galaxy running through and it is a target rich environment. The North America nebula gets its name because it is shaped like the North American continent. It lies in the Orion arm of the Milky Way Galaxy. In my photo it is easy to see the shape of the Gulf of Mexico, Central America, Florida, and the entire US and Canada. The part that resembles Central America is called the Cygnus Wall and contains the largest star forming regions of the nebula. This area is rich in Hydrogen gas and dust and like most Hydrogen rich objects it appears red in LRGB imaging. I like the shape of the Cygnus Wall and how there appears to be a “wind” blowing dust away from the wall area. The dark area that forms the Gulf of Mexico is a dark dust cloud that spans past the Florida part of the nebula all the way to the Pelican Nebula. The source star that illuminates the entire nebula is located in this dark dust cloud and is down and to the right of the Florida part. This star is also responsible for illuminating the nearby Pelican Nebula. It does not appear bright in the image but that is because of the dust that obscures our view. In the same dark nebula area you can see the asterism formed by seven stars that appears to look like the Orion nebula. Moving up the East Coast from Florida, I like the two parts of the dark nebula that would be where the Carolinas and Maine are located. They are illuminated from the side and have an eerie yellowish-orange color in narrowband. The Continental US and Canadian parts of the nebula are rich in stars and there is another wispy concentration of gas and dust in the Canadian part of the nebula.
IC 5070, commonly called the Pelican Nebula, is a large emission nebula in the constellation of Cygnus. It is part of the North America nebula complex and is illuminated by the same source star. It resembles a pelican that appears to be looking at the North America Nebula. The distinct emission area along the neck and back area is known as IC 5067 and is a large star forming region. The large Dark nebula in between NGC 7000 and IC 5070 is LDN 935 and it helps shape the image of the Pelican and North America nebula. The Spitzer Space Telescope has looked in to this very dense dust cloud and found a lot of star formation. The same Spitzer Space Telescope has found 2076 YSO (Young Star Candidates) in the entire North America+ Pelican region.
IC5068 is the large emission nebula below the Pelican Nebula and it extends down to the bottom edge of my image. It is often overlooked for imaging when compared to its neighbors but it has a wispy structure that is accented by the darker dust lanes giving it an eerie appearance.
Open cluster NGC 6997 is shown inside of the North American nebula and is located in the area I would describe as where the upper midwest is located on a globe. It is a magnitude 10 star cluster located about 2,400 light years from Earth.
Below is a another view of the North America and Pelican nebula. This time I used the native field of view from the Borg 71 and QSI 683 camera, no mosaic.
For a full size image click here.
Exposures: SII 36×600 Bin 1, Ha 55×600 Bin 1, OIII 34×600 Bin1
Below is a an LRGB view of the North America and Pelican nebula. I used the same FOV as above for the SHO version.
For a full size image click here.
Exposures: L 24×300 Bin 1, R 23×300 Bin 1, G 24×300 Bin 1, B 23×300 Bin 1
For a full size image click here.
Object Name: VdB 152 Region
Distance: 1,400 Light Years
Magnitude: 8.8
Size: 5×7 Arc Minutes
Telescope: Borg 71
Camera: QSI683
Mount: AP1100
Exposures: L 22×300 Bin 1, R 39×150 Bin 2, G 32×150 Bin 2, B 27×150 Bin 2
This image was captured from my home in a Bortle 6 zone. Luckily I did not have any issues with light pollution gradients in this image.
VdB 152 is a reflection nebula in the constellation Cepheus. It is about 1,400 light years away and is a dim object set in a field of dust known as the Cepheus Flare. Surrounding stars in this area are also discolored as a result of all this dust. BD+69 1231 is the source star that illuminates the reflection nebula and can be seen in the cavity of the nebula. Embedded in this nebula is HH 450, a Herbig-Haro object. Herbig-Haro objects are supersonic outflows from YSO’s that collide with interstellar medium to create compressed lines of material. These show best in images that contain Ha and SII data. It is barely visible in my image but can be seen as a reddish blob to the left of the source illumination star at the dark/reflection nebula boundary. HH 450 is only 33” in length and is only resolved in large telescopes.
Barnard 175 is the cometary-shaped dark dust cloud that tails away from the nebula and is listed as a Bok Globule. A Bok globule is a region of dark cool dust and gas. The densest part of Barnard 175 is approximately 5’ x 7’ in size but the tail extends another 30’. The entire dust complex of Barnard 175 is moving at a different speed than the illuminating source of VdB 152. It was discovered that these two objects are merely passing each other at a speed of 11.7 kms.
The thin red filaments beginning in the upper-left corner of my image and ending at the reflection nebula are the remnants of a supernova explosion. It is cataloged as SNR G110.3 +11.3 and is brightest at the area that intersects VdB 152. This indicates some interaction between the two objects and that their distances from Earth are about the same.
For a full size image click here.
Distance: 1,500 Light Years
Camera: QSI 683
Telescope: Borg 71
Mount: AP1100
Exposures: L 24×300 Bin 1, R 24×150 Bin 2, G 23×150 Bin 2, B 25×150 Bin 2
Here is my attempt at the Horse Head and Flame region. I captured this image from my home in a Bortle 6 zone. I am posting an LRGB image plus an HA image.
The Horse Head nebula is a dark nebula in the constellation Orion. Star formation has been verified inside the head with infrared imaging. The dark nebula which forms the Horse Head stand out against the backdrop of emission nebula IC 434. The curtain like effect is the result of a magnetic field radiating out from the Horse Head area. Just below and to the left is the blue tinted NGC 2023. Below that is a smaller reflection nebula IC 435.
The Flame nebula is to the left of the Horse Head in my image. It is illuminated by the bright stat Alnitak. Active star formation is happening in the Flame nebula and there is a small star cluster that was discovered inside via near infrared imaging. Close by are IC 432 and IC 432. These are small reflection nebulas.
Below is an HA image consisting of 33×1200 second exposures:
For a full size image click here.
For a full size image click here.
Distance: 1000 Light-years
Magnitude:
Size: 17 Light-years
Age: Not Known
Telescope: Borg 71FL
Camera: QSI 683
Mount: AP 900
Exposures: Luminance 18×420 Seconds Bin 1, RGB 30×210 Seconds Bin 2
LDN 1250 is a dark nebula in the constellation Cepheus. This is a very dim dust cloud that is illuminated from surrounding galactic radiation. It is thought that many dark nebula get their shape from stellar winds that move the dust and give the nebula its unique shape.
This image was captured from a dark sky location. The conditions were generally good and clear with very little wind.
For a full size image click here.
Distance: ~1,000 Light Years
Magnitude: 13
Size: 5 degrees x 1 degree
Age: Not Known
Telescope: Borg 71FL
Camera: QSI 683
Mount: AP1100
Exposures: L 28×300 Bin 1 RGB 14×150 Bin 2
IC 2118 is a reflection nebula in the constellation Eridanus. It is a dim dust cloud that is illuminated by the star Rigel in the constellation Orion. The entire dust cloud appears to be in the shape of a witch head and thus the nickname the Witch Head Nebula. IC 2118 gets its shape from stellar winds and this is confirmed by the same appearance in both Optical and InfraRed light. The distance is somewhat uncertain but if in the ~400 parsec range the stellar wind is likely from the trapezium region of Orion. If in the ~200 parsec range then the stellar wind is likely from the Orion-Eridanus super bubble.
IC 2118 is also a star forming region. Stars can form from dust clouds by a few different methods. For IC 2118 it is thought that the same stellar wind that has shaped this region is also responsible for providing the motion needed to start the collapse and compression of the dust to form young stars. As of 2013, six YSO’s (young stellar objects) candidates have been discovered using IR cameras on the Spitzer telescope. An additional 9-11 candidates have been discovered by others.
This image was captured at a dark sky site. The conditions were high humidity but no wind. I had to stop imaging at about 1am as the clouds and sprinkles rolled in. Thankfully I heard the raindrops right away (I was sleeping) and disaster was avoided.