Nights at Melinda Heights

For a full size image click here.

Distance: 1,800 Light Years

Magnitude: 6.0

Size: 150×50 Arc Minutes

Telescope: Borg 71

Camera: QSI683

Mount: AP1100

Exposures: SII 43×600, Ha 26×1200, OIII 33×600

This image was captured from my home in a Bortle 6/7 region.

NGC 1499, also known as the California nebula, is a large emission nebula in the constellation Perseus. The nebula gets its name from the resemblance to the shape of the state of California. This large nebula resides in the Orion arm of our galaxy and is illuminated by the brightest star in the picture, Xi Persei. Xi Persei is also known as Menkhib on most star charts and is a very hot bluish white star whose temperature is about 66,000 degrees Fahrenheit. This is over 6 times as hot as our own sun. There is a very extreme stellar wind created by this star and it is illuminating the gas and dust that forms the shape of the California nebula.

IC 2005 is located inside of my image but it is too dim to be seen at my image scale. It is a 14.8 magnitude spiral galaxy.

Here is an Ha version:

Exposures: Ha 26×1200

For a full size image click here.