Hello all,
I finally got around to processing data shot late last summer through this fall.
First off is a widefield shot of NGC 6888, the Crescent Nebula in Cygnus. H-alpha
I acquired the hydrogen-alpha data for this target late June 2013, then I was shut down by the monsoon season of the US southwest. I finally acquired the color in September after the monsoons ended.
More information and a preview image can be seen at:
http://www.skiesbyafrica.com/Nebulae/NGC6888.html
Click on the preview image to see the 75% sized version. Or just click below:
http://www.skiesbyafrica.com/Nebulae/Images/NGC6888/NGC6888-2013.jpg
Next up is the region around vdB 149 and vdB 150. The intriguing shape of the cloud between the two objects and pretty much dominating the image was what drew me to this target. On researching this region, I didn't realize how intriguing it really is! I had never heard of an Extended Red Emission (ERE) nebula before, and if I understand its definition, it's actually an emission counterpart to the Integrated Flux Nebula! Hmmm.... I wonder if that means it will respond to H-alpha filters?
More information and a preview image can be seen at:
http://www.skiesbyafrica.com/Nebulae/vdb149-150.html
Click on the preview image to see the 75% sized version. Or just click below:
http://www.skiesbyafrica.com/Nebulae/Images/vdB149-150/vdb-149-150-2013.jpg
Last is the region around SH2-155, the Cave Nebula. I'd always held off on shooting this target (along with NGC 6888) because I firmly believed that those targets deserved to be shot in higher resolution. I finally decided this year to throw that rule out the window and shoot widefields galor. This particular FOV rewarded me with lots of pleasant surprises.
For instance, I wasn't aware that another "155" resides in this region, vdB 155. The dark nebula (LDN 1215?) looks like the silhouette of the Alien in the "Alien" movies. And there is an intriguing dark nebula on the left of the frame that looks like a huge, claw-like hand!
I've whimsically titled this image "The Alien Enters its Cave".
More information and a preview image can be seen at:
http://www.skiesbyafrica.com/Nebulae/CaveNebula.html
Click on the preview image to see the 75% sized version. Or just click below:
http://www.skiesbyafrica.com/Nebulae/Images/SH2-155/SH2-155-2013.jpg
The Cave and vdB 149/150 objects are described as dim and usually depicted quite dimly in many of the shots I found on the web. I brightened them up in my renditions, I hope not overly so. As I was processing the vdB 149/150 image, I found myself wishing I swapped exposure times for this with the Iris Nebula/Ghost Nebula image I shared previously! I think those vdB objects need that kind of exposure time!
Comments and suggestions always welcome.
Eric
I finally got around to processing data shot late last summer through this fall.
First off is a widefield shot of NGC 6888, the Crescent Nebula in Cygnus. H-alpha
I acquired the hydrogen-alpha data for this target late June 2013, then I was shut down by the monsoon season of the US southwest. I finally acquired the color in September after the monsoons ended.
More information and a preview image can be seen at:
http://www.skiesbyafrica.com/Nebulae/NGC6888.html
Click on the preview image to see the 75% sized version. Or just click below:
http://www.skiesbyafrica.com/Nebulae/Images/NGC6888/NGC6888-2013.jpg
Next up is the region around vdB 149 and vdB 150. The intriguing shape of the cloud between the two objects and pretty much dominating the image was what drew me to this target. On researching this region, I didn't realize how intriguing it really is! I had never heard of an Extended Red Emission (ERE) nebula before, and if I understand its definition, it's actually an emission counterpart to the Integrated Flux Nebula! Hmmm.... I wonder if that means it will respond to H-alpha filters?
More information and a preview image can be seen at:
http://www.skiesbyafrica.com/Nebulae/vdb149-150.html
Click on the preview image to see the 75% sized version. Or just click below:
http://www.skiesbyafrica.com/Nebulae/Images/vdB149-150/vdb-149-150-2013.jpg
Last is the region around SH2-155, the Cave Nebula. I'd always held off on shooting this target (along with NGC 6888) because I firmly believed that those targets deserved to be shot in higher resolution. I finally decided this year to throw that rule out the window and shoot widefields galor. This particular FOV rewarded me with lots of pleasant surprises.
For instance, I wasn't aware that another "155" resides in this region, vdB 155. The dark nebula (LDN 1215?) looks like the silhouette of the Alien in the "Alien" movies. And there is an intriguing dark nebula on the left of the frame that looks like a huge, claw-like hand!
I've whimsically titled this image "The Alien Enters its Cave".
More information and a preview image can be seen at:
http://www.skiesbyafrica.com/Nebulae/CaveNebula.html
Click on the preview image to see the 75% sized version. Or just click below:
http://www.skiesbyafrica.com/Nebulae/Images/SH2-155/SH2-155-2013.jpg
The Cave and vdB 149/150 objects are described as dim and usually depicted quite dimly in many of the shots I found on the web. I brightened them up in my renditions, I hope not overly so. As I was processing the vdB 149/150 image, I found myself wishing I swapped exposure times for this with the Iris Nebula/Ghost Nebula image I shared previously! I think those vdB objects need that kind of exposure time!
Comments and suggestions always welcome.
Eric
