This wide-field image frames the prominent emission nebula IC 1396, at left, and the faint arcs of Sharpless 2-129 at right, in southern Cepheus. IC 1396 contains the dark Elephant Trunk Nebula at about the 3 o’clock position in the nebula. At the top edge of the nebula is the orange giant star Mu Cephei, aka Herschel’s Garnet Star. The dark nebula at top left is Barnard 169-70-71. The dark nebulas at the bottom of IC 1396 are B160, B162 and the snake-like B365. A small blue reflection nebula below and left of the Sharpless complex is VandenBurgh 140. This is a blend of filtered and unfiltered shots, all with the William Optics RedCat 51mm astrographic refractor at its native f/5 and with the Canon EOS Ra: 6 x 8-minutes at ISO 1600 without the filter and 4 x 12-minutes at ISO 5000 with the Optolong L-Enhance filter, which reduces light by about 2 to 3 f-stops but really makes the H-alpha nebulas stand out. All stacked, aligned and blended in Photoshop. LENR employed on all frames on this warm summer night to ensure the most accurate dark frame subtraction of thermal noise but at the cost of doubling the capture time.
This area in Cygnus that contains the circular Cocoon Nebula, aka IC 5146, located at the end of the long dark nebula called the Dark Cigar but officially is Barnard 168. The nebulas are flanked by two open star clusters: NGC 7209 at far left just over the border in Lacerta, and Messier 39 at far right. NGC 7209 barely stands out amid the rich starfield here, just below an orange star, while M39 is bright but sparse at right. The clusters and dark nebula stand out well in binoculars but the Cocoon Nebula is a challenge to see in telescopes. This is a stack of 6 x 6-minute exposures with the William Optics RedCat 51mm astrographic refractor at f/5 and the Canon EOS Ra at ISO 800 with LENR on as it was the warmest night of the summer, August 18, 2020. Aligned, stacked and median combined in Photoshop to eliminate some satellite trails. Autoguided with the ZWO ASIAir and ASI120MM guide camera with the RedCat on the Astro-Physics Mach1 mount. No filters employed here.
A wide-field image of the area of sky around blue-white Altair, bright at centre, flanked by Alshain (Beta Aquilae) at bottom and orange Tarazed (Gamma Aquilae) at top. Above Tarazed is the dark nebula known as Barnard’s E, named for E.E. Barnard who first photographed and cataloged dark nebulas. The E consists of B143 (the darkest component) and the less prominent B142 below. B334 is at top right, while B340 is left of Tarazed. This is a stack of 6 x 6-minute exposures with the William Optics RedCat 51mm astrographic refractor at f/5 and the Canon EOS Ra at ISO 800 with LENR on as it was the warmest night of the summer, August 18, 2020. Aligned, stacked and median combined in Photoshop to eliminate some satellite trails. Autoguided with the ZWO ASIAir and ASI120MM guide camera with the RedCat on the Astro-Physics Mach1 mount. No filters employed here.
