NGC 6914 - HaRGB

NGC 6914 is a reflection nebula with a bluish cast located approximately 6,000 light-years away in the constellation of Cygnus. It can be separated into three main regions: 1) NGC 6914 in the center a.k.a. vdB 132, 2) NGC 6914a (to the left) a.k.a. vdB 131, and 3) NGC 6914b (to the right). Each bright nebula is being illuminated by one or more massive, young, hot star(s). This reflection nebula lies within a much larger hydrogen gas cloud which is being ionized by the ultraviolet light from the stars in the region. Several dark nebulae composed of gas and dust are also found within the region.

I had intended for this image to be an HOO (w/ RGB stars), however, the stacked oxygen data was out whack. The orientation was a bit off since I removed the camera during one of the sessions and there were terrible gradients that the flats did not remove.  I was imaging the OIII when the moon was out and when it was 'fake clear' nights so I was not surprised by results.  The Ha and RGB data came out really well so I just went with it.  The reflection nebula came out surprisingly well in RGB even without any luminosity. 

If you have been following me you know I have been busy with the Hyperstar lately and have two images posted so far, The Cave Nebula and The Crescent Nebula, however, I have not forgotten this setup.  I was done with this three weeks ago but have been very busy, in fact I have more unprocessed images as well.

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NGC 6914 - HaRGB

Dates: 8-24, 8-25, 8-26, 8-30, 9-2, 9-3, 9-4, 9-6, 9-7

Camera: ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro
Telescope: Astro-Tech AT115EDT 115mm Refractor Telescope
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 805mm
f/7
Focal Reducer: 0.8x AstroTech Field Flatterner/Focal Reducer
Mount: Orion Sirius
Filter Wheel: ZWO EFW 8 x 1.25"
Filter: ZWO Ha, OIII, SII, R, G, B
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to an Agena 50mm Guide Scope/ZWO 60mm Guidescope
Exposure: Ha 105 x 240, OIII 101 x 240, R 32 x 60, G 30 x 60, B 31 x 60
Gain: 139
Offset 21
Sensor Temp: 0 C
Processing: NINA, PixInsight, Photoshop, Topaz DeNoiseAI.

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NGC 6888 - Crescent Nebula & More

The feature of this image is the Crescent Nebula or NGC 6888 which is an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus approximately 5,000 light-years away. It formed when a highly energetic fast moving stellar wind encountered slower moving wind ejected when the star became a red giant over 250,000 years ago. It is currently 25 light-year across. This whole region is loaded with gas and dust as can be seen on the image. In addition to the high amount of hydrogen in and around the Crescent Nebula, a high amount of Oxygen is also present. The hydrogen is represented as red while Oxygen appears as a blue-green color. Also, found on this image is the Soap Bubble Nebula (PN G75.5+1.7). Located on the left side the Soap Bubble Nebula is a planetary nebula and was discovered less than 20 years ago.

This is my second image with the Celestron EdgeHD8 with Hyperstar. I once again used the IDAS NBZ dual band filter and the ZWO ASI294MC Pro. So far I am very happy with the results and look forward to continual use.

I made a video short (< 1 min.) of both the EdgeHD8 and AT115EDT setups if you want to see more.
https://youtu.be/P-CAd85Tz58 

NGC 6888 - Crescent Nebula
Dates: 8-26, 9-2
Camera: ZWO ASI294MC-Pro
Telescope: Celestron EdgeHD 800
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 2032mm (native)
F/10 (native) F/1.9 (Hyperstar)
Focal Reducer: Starizona Hyperstar
Mount: Orion Atlas Pro
Filter Adaptor: Starizona Filter Drawer
Filter: Baader IDAS NBZ (2-inch)
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to an Orion ST80
Exposure: NBZ 110 x 120
Gain: 120
Offset 0
Temp: 0 C
Processing: Asiair app, PixInsight, Photoshop, Topaz DeNoiseAI.

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SH2-155 - The Cave Nebula

Located in the constellation Cepheus is a giant cave! The Cave Nebula or SH2-155 also goes by Caldwell 9 and LBN 529 is a star-forming ionized Ha region located approximately 2,400 light-years away. It sits within a larger region of gas and dust containing emission, reflection and dark nebula which is visible on the image. The “Cave” coined by Patrick Moore is the large cavity surrounded by the intense red-orange emission nebula in the center of the image. Another noteworthy part is the blue reflection nebula vdB 155 located just north and east of the Cave Nebula. Many other dark nebulae are scattered throughout this region, some of which are visible on the image.

So this is first light with the Hyperstar and I am really loving the f/1.9 system. I am amazed at how much nebulosity was visible in each 3 minute subframe. This represents 4.65 hrs of total exposure with the EdgeHD8-Hyperstar using the IDAS NBZ filter. About half of the data was collected when the moon was out but it was not in the direction of the nebula. I did a comparison stack without the moon data added to see which was better and using all of the data produced a better starting image.  I was also a bit worried about using the ZWO ASI294 as the scale indicates (2.4") it is on the border of under- sampling but I am happy with the results - many other people have been successfully using this setup.

I am also really liking the Asiair Pro for capturing and there were no issues encountered by switching to the hyperstar. It focused, guided, and plate-solved perfectly. I probably did not even need to guide with the hyperstar (certainly overkill with the ST80) but did it anyway. I also made a new set of flats and dark flats and did encounter an issue. It seems the red LED light on the camera is picked up when making the dark flats so I covered it with tape. This is only an issue with RASA/Hyperstar systems since the camera is located in the front.

Using The ASIAIR Pro For Making Flats & Dark Flats
https://youtu.be/4GAGcnb-m3c 

SH2-155 - Cave Nebula
Dates: 8-27, 8-30, 9-1
Camera: ZWO ASI294MC-Pro
Telescope: Celestron EdgeHD 800
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 2032mm (native)
F/10 (native) F/1.9 (Hyperstar)
Focal Reducer: Starizona Hyperstar 
Mount: Orion Atlas Pro
Filter Adaptor: Starizona Filter Drawer
Filter: Baader IDAS NBZ (2-inch)
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to an Orion ST80
Exposure: NBZ 93 x 180
Gain: 120
Offset 0
Temp: 0 C
Processing: Asiair app, PixInsight, Photoshop, Gradient Exterminator, Topaz DeNoiseAI.

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