This is the California Nebula (aka NGC 1499) in Perseus, a classic red emission nebula emitting mostly at the red wavelength of hydrogen-alpha light but also with a strong hydrogen-beta emission line in the blue-green part of the spectrum. By contrast, below is the small blue reflection nebula known only as IC 348, a cloud of dust surrounding hot blue stars and reflecting their light. But the region also contains some dim red emission nebulosity. Also throughout the field are patches of yellow-brown dust that form obscuring dark nebulas. The main dark nebulas are Barnard 5 (above IC 348) and Barnard 4 below. This is a stack of 8 x 8 minute unfiltered exposures at ISO 800 blended with a stack of 9 x 15-minute exposures through an Optolong L-Enhance narrowband filter, to bring out the emission nebulas. All were with the Canon EOS Ra camera through the William Optics RedCat 51mm astrograph at f/4.9, equipped with the Starizona filter drawer. Autoguiding was with the Lacerta MGEN3 stand-alone autoguider on the Astro-Physics Mach 1 mount. All stacking, alignment and blending was with Photoshop. Luminosity masks applied with Lumenzia to do selective curves adjustments to various tonal ranges. Shot from home November 15, 2020.
A wide-field image of the region of Perseus and Taurus from the pink California Nebula (NGC 1499) at top, to the blue Pleiades star cluster (M45) at bottom. In between and surrounding the main bright objects are many tendrils of interstellar dust clouds, varying in shades of brown and pale blue. Around the Pleiades the faint clouds reflect some of the lblue light of the young stars, but away from the Pleiades the clouds take on a warm reddish tone, or appear as just dark fingers blocking all light from behind. At centre right are some brighter patches known as IC 348 around the star Atik, aka Omicron Persei. The glow at left in the darkest cloud is IC 2087. The small star cluster at upper right is NGC 1342. This is a stack of 30 x 4-minute exposures with the Canon EOS Ra camera at ISO 800, and the low-cost Rokinon 85mm f/1.4 lens at f/4 and shooting through a NISI Natural Night light pollution filter, a mild broadband filter. The lens, despite being stopped down, is still subject to some chromatic aberration, which lens corrections help with but cannot fully eliminate at the raw development stage. All stacking, alignment and processing with Photoshiop 2021, with luminosity masks created with Lumenzia v9 extension panel , which was very helpful in bringing the faint dust clouds out from the dark background. No dark frames or LENR applied on this cool winter night.
The southern sky and Milky Way from Canopus (at lower right) up to the Carina Nebula at upper left, with the False Cross in the centre, made of stars from Vela and Carina. The Large Magellanic Cloud is at lower left. NGC 2516 is the large open cluster at centre. The large magenta nebula is the Gum Nebula in Vela. This is a stack of 4 x 2.5 minute exposures at f/2.8 with the 35mm Canon prime lens, and filter-modified Canon 5D Mark II at ISO 1600. Taken from Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia, April 2014. Star glows added with a separate exposure taken thru the Kenko Softon filter.
