Clouds in California
The California Nebula (NGC 1499/Sh2-220) is an emission nebula located in the constellation Perseus. Its name comes from its resemblance to the outline of the US State of California in 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 can be observed with a Hα filter (isolates the Hα line at 656 nm) or Hβ filter (isolates the Hβ line at 486 nm) in a rich-field telescope under dark skies. It lies at a distance of about 1,000 light years from Earth. Its fluorescence is due to excitation of the Hβ line in the nebula by the nearby prodigiously energetic O7 star, Xi Persei (also known as Menkib).
The California Nebula was discovered by E. E. Barnard in 1884.
By coincidence, the California Nebula transits in the zenith in central California as the latitude matches the declination of the object.
My image here only shows a section of the full nebula!
Imaging telescope: Takahashi FSQ130ED
Imaging camera: ASI 2600mm
Mount: JTW Trident P75
Guiding telescope: Takahashi FS60CB
Guiding camera: QHY 5 II
Focal Extender / Reducer: None
Software: Sequence Generator Pro SGP (for capture) PHD 2 (guiding), Astro Pixel Processor, PixInsight.
Filters: Astrodon SII (3nm), Astrodon Ha (3nm), Astrodon Astron OIII (3nm),
Accessories: Robofocus Focuser controlled by Lunatico Armadillo, ATIK EFW 3, RB Focus Gaius, RB Focus Excalibur.
Dates: 22nd. Dec 2023 - 7th Jan 2024
Frames:
Astrodon SII 36 x 600'
Astrodon Ha 36 x 600'
Astrodon OIII 36 x 600'
Total integration = 18 Hours.
Center (RA, Dec): (59.917, 36.522)
Center (RA, hms): 03h 59m 40.000s
Center (Dec, dms): +36° 31' 20.286"
Size: 1.59 x 1.06 deg
Radius: 0.958 deg
Pixel scale: 1.2 arcsec/pixel
Orientation: Up is 179.7 degrees E of N
The California Nebula was discovered by E. E. Barnard in 1884.
By coincidence, the California Nebula transits in the zenith in central California as the latitude matches the declination of the object.
My image here only shows a section of the full nebula!
Imaging telescope: Takahashi FSQ130ED
Imaging camera: ASI 2600mm
Mount: JTW Trident P75
Guiding telescope: Takahashi FS60CB
Guiding camera: QHY 5 II
Focal Extender / Reducer: None
Software: Sequence Generator Pro SGP (for capture) PHD 2 (guiding), Astro Pixel Processor, PixInsight.
Filters: Astrodon SII (3nm), Astrodon Ha (3nm), Astrodon Astron OIII (3nm),
Accessories: Robofocus Focuser controlled by Lunatico Armadillo, ATIK EFW 3, RB Focus Gaius, RB Focus Excalibur.
Dates: 22nd. Dec 2023 - 7th Jan 2024
Frames:
Astrodon SII 36 x 600'
Astrodon Ha 36 x 600'
Astrodon OIII 36 x 600'
Total integration = 18 Hours.
Center (RA, Dec): (59.917, 36.522)
Center (RA, hms): 03h 59m 40.000s
Center (Dec, dms): +36° 31' 20.286"
Size: 1.59 x 1.06 deg
Radius: 0.958 deg
Pixel scale: 1.2 arcsec/pixel
Orientation: Up is 179.7 degrees E of N
Sky Map & Finding Chart
SII, Ha & OIII in the image
Annotated Image
