LDN 1251 - A Dark Nebula in Cepheus

LDN 1251 is a dark nebula found in a faint glowing molecular cloud. Located approximately 1,000 light-years away (LY) in the constellation Cepheus the molecular cloud contains other dark nebulae as well as bright patches of nebulosity associated with newborn stars known as Herbig-Haro (HH) objects. In addition, two small galaxies stand out in this region - PGC 166755, located in the center left shows some structure and PGC 69472 located in the bottom center.

Capturing went pretty well as we had some clear weather last month although the green and blue channels seem to be more dull compared to the red channel - this was most likely due to the smoky skies that have been plaguing us all summer long. Processing was pretty smooth as well. The only thing that I don't like is the geometric shape of the bright yellow star HR8625 located in the bottom of the nebula. That shape is due to reflections on the ZWO ASI1600 camera sensor - it doesn't handle large stars well. The nebular color is what came through. For once I did very little color adjustment other than brightening with vibrance and saturation.

LDN 1251
Dates: 6-15-23, 7-19, 7-20, 7-21, 7-22, 7-23, 7-24
Camera: ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro
Telescope: Astro-Tech AT115EDT 115mm Refractor Telescope
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 805mm (644mm w/ FR)
f/7
Focal Reducer: 0.8x AstroTech Field Flatterner/Focal Reducer
Mount: Orion Sirius
Filter Wheel: ZWO
EFW 8 x 1.25"
Filter: Antlia Ha, ZWO L, R, G, B
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to an Agena 50mm Guide Scope/ZWO 60mm Guidescope
Exposure: L 199 x 120, R 87 x 90, G 92 x 90, B 90 x 90
Gain: 139
Offset 20
Sensor Temp: 0 C
Processing: NINA, PixInsight, Photoshop, BlurXTerminator, StarXTerminator, NoiseXTerminator.

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