Digital Image: The California Nebula

Here is NGC 1499, otherwise known as the California Nebula. This is a narrowband shot, consisting of mostly Hydrogen Alpha and Sodium II wavelengths. The Oxygen III filter did not contribute much for this target.

The California Nebula (NGC 1499/Sh2-220) is an emission nebula located in the constellation Perseus. It is so named because it appears to resemble the outline of the US State of California on long exposure photographs. It is almost 2.5° long on the sky and, because of its very low surface brightness, it is extremely difficult to observe visually. It lies at a distance of about 1,000 light years from Earth. (wikipedia)

This image was taken from the KPO observing field, in St. Cloud, FL (Bortle 4.5).

Click on the image for a larger version.

Image Info

  • Camera : ZWO ASI1600MM Pro
  • Lens: Canon 100-400 f/5.6L lens, set to 400mm
  • Mount: iOptron SmartEQ Pro
  • Hydrogen Alpha: 20 subframes of 300s = 100 min integration (used as the Luminance channel)
  • Oxygen III: 22 subframes of 600s = 110 min integration
  • Sulfur: 23 subframes of 600s = 115 min integration
  • Total integration time: 325 min = 5.4 hours.
  • Captured via ASIAir Pro automation
  • Optical tracking via ASIAir automation, currently using ST4 mount control via the ASI120MM-S guide camera
  • Separate channels stacked and SHO integrated in Astro Pixel Processor
  • Cropped, stretched, and denoised in Nebulosity
  • Final processing in Aperture

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