A portrait of the W-shaped constellation of Cassiopeia, with her various star clusters and emission nebulas, and with the area laced with dark nebula. . For nebulas — At upper left is IC 1805 and IC 1848, the Heart and Soul Nebulas. At upper right is NGC 7822 and Ced 214. At bottom is NGC 281 the Pacman Nebula. Just below centre is the faint IC 59 and IC 63 reflection nebulas near the star Gamma Cassiopeiae. For star clusters — at far left is the Double Cluster NGC 869 and NGC 884. Left of centre is NGC 663. Below centre is NGC 457. At bottom right on the edge of the frame is NGC 7789. I should have framed the scene a bit farther to the south! This is a stack of 11 x 6-minute tracked but unguided exposures at f/2.8 with the Rokinon 85mm lens and Canon EOS Ra at ISO 1600, blended with a single simular exposure through a Kenko Softon A filter to add the star glows. All were also shot through an Astronomik CLS clip-in filter, to reduce sky glow and enhance the nebulas. Taken December 4, 2020 from home on the AP Mach 1 mount.
This is a wide shot encompassing the constellation of Cassiopeia the Queen in the northern autumn sky, showing the variety of colours in the starclouds and nebulas that populate this section of the Milky Way. The colours are brought out by the long exposure used and by contrast enhancements in processing. But yes, they are real! This is not false colour. The pink emission nebulas of the Heart and Soul Nebulas (IC 1848 and IC 1805 respectively), at left, and the NGC 7822/Ced 214 complex, at top, dominate. The small pink patch at bottom is the Pacman Nebula, NGC 281. At upper right are the faint nebulas around the star cluster M52, including the Bubble Nebula, NGC 7635. The purple glows near the star Gamma Cassiopeiae, aka Navi, at centre are the reflection nebulas IC 59 and IC 63. Lots of star clusters populate the area, including the Double Cluster in Perseus at lower left, and NGC 7789, Caroline's Rose, at right. NGC 663 and NGC 457 are the star clusters below the left side of the W that marks Cassiopeia. This is a stack of 14 x 2-minute exposures with the Canon RF 28-70mm lens at 62mm and f/2.5 on the Canon EOS Ra at ISO 1600, and on the Star Adventurer Mini tracker. The lens had a URTH Night filter on it to reduce light pollution and airglow discolouration. Taken from home October 1, 2021 on a night with some loss of transparency due to haze. Nebulosity was brought out with the aid of luminosity and colour range masks created with Lumenzia. An additional exposure through an Alyn Wallace/Kase Starglow filter layered in adds the subtle star glows to make the "W" stars pop. All stacking, alignment and blending done in Photoshop.
