SH2-278

Sharpless 278 or SH2-278 is a faint emission nebula located in the Orion Molecular Cloud just north of Rigel. There are also some blue reflection nebulae associated with this object, however, they are very faint and would need lots of exposure time in a dark area to bring it out. My sky conditions especially to the south looking in this region are not good so I decided to collect just enough RGB for the stars but forgo the reflection to focus more on the Ha portion. I am happy with this choice as the stars turned out to be quite colorful.

The image is oriented exactly as it would appear if you were looking at it in the Northern Hemisphere where north is on the top, east is left, west is right, and south is on the bottom (Rigel is a bit further south). The nebula has an interesting structure with a large main arc that resembles a flock of birds flying south for the winter. A smaller secondary arc known as LBN 960 is located on the southern arm while a third arc known as LBN 956 is on the northern arm.

The nebula was visible in the stacked red channel but not in either of the green or blue channels. There are also dark structures within emission nebula which form a nice contrast with the red region. I collected data over several nights as it was a good object to do while waiting for other targets to emerge. In addition, I was able to collect Ha data when the moon was partially out as well - lately it only seems to be clear when the moon is out.

Dates: 1-11-22, 1-14, 1-15, 1-18, 1-31, 2-5, 2-8, 2-9, 2-10

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SH2-278

Dates: 1-11-22, 1-14, 1-15, 1-18, 1-31, 2-5, 2-8, 2-9, 2-10
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: ZWO Ha, R, G, B
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to an Agena 50mm Guide Scope/ZWO 60mm Guidescope
Exposure: None 138 x 180, R 61 x 90, G 54 x 90, B 63 x 90
Gain: 139
Offset 20
Sensor Temp: -20 C
Processing: NINA, PixInsight, Photoshop, Topaz DeNoiseAI, Gradient Exterminator, StarXTerminator.

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Using a Canon EOS Lens with ZWO Filter Wheel. Use Stepdown Rings for Aperture!

Canon EOS lenses can make great astrographs however the backfocus is limited to 44mm.  ZWO has an EOS filter drawer adapter which I showed in a previous video, however, they have another adapter which can be used with their 1.25 inch (31mm) filter wheels and a monochrome camera.  Also, in order to get the optimal star shapes, the aperture should be stepped down.  In a previous video I described a method for adjusting the aperture of Canon Autofocus lenses, however, there is a better way which I describe in this video.

Video is on my Youtube Channel!

Using a Canon 200mm & ASI294MC Pro

https://youtu.be/HczjqhoXANA

Cuiv, The Lazy Geek

https://youtu.be/D78P1h_a50Q

K&F Concept 18 Pieces Filter Ring Adapter Set

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The Angel Nebula (NGC 2170, NGC 2182, & others)

The Angel Nebula consists of NGC 2170, NGC 2182, LBN 993, LBN 999, and vdB69 and more. The central object, NGC 2170, is a reflection nebula in the constellation Monoceros approximately 2,400 light-years away. The red-orange cloud in the center is NGC 2170 and is illuminated by the many nearby stars in the region. There are small emission nebulae scattered throughout as well as blue reflection nebulae (NGC 2185 and vdB 68). To top it off, dark nebulae are present in the region and make for a wonderful contrast to the brighter regions.

There are some truly gorgeous images of the region I have seen over the years but this is not one of them. Perhaps if I collected some Ha it would improve but I am not so sure. At a maximum of 42 degrees altitude to the south, I think this is at my low limit for reflection nebulae. It is the same for the Witch Head, which I have tried previously. This was one of the hardest images I have processed because the raw stacked image had so many artifacts. I was almost not going to share it but I did some processing gymnastics to make it look presentable. There are some cool details which I was able to preserve.

If you are interested in the raw raw stacked version I have attached a link.

Raw Image

NGC 2170, NGC 2182, & others

Dates: 1-25, 1-26, 1-31, 2-5
Camera: ZWO ASI294MC-Pro
Telescope: Celestron EdgeHD 800
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 2032mm (native)
F/10 (native)
Focal Reducer: Celestron .7 Reducer Lens
Mount: Orion Atlas Pro
Filter Adaptor: ZWO Filter Drawer
Filter: Baader Optolong Luminosity (2-inch)
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to an Orion ST80
Exposure: Optolong Luminosity 213 x 90
Gain: 139
Offset 0
Temp: -20 C
Processing: Asiair app, PixInsight, Photoshop, Star Exterminator, Topaz DeNoiseAI.

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Dreyer's Nebula - IC 447 (& others)

What more can you ask for in the constellation of Monoceros, blue reflection nebulae, dark nebulae, and even red emission nebulae although I did not capture much of that. All of this setting in right in the middle of much more popular objects such as the the Cone Nebula and Rosette Nebula which is why it is not frequently imaged. I was quite pleased with the detail in the blue reflection nebulae especially the smaller ones on the top portion and the gold tones in the background.

Apparently the largest blue reflection nebula was discovered twice, hence the two designations IC 447 and IC 2169. The same can be said of the nearby reflection nebula IC 446/2167 located a half degree north of it. The dark nebula LDN 1607 sits between them. Just southeast of IC 446/2167 puts you at the small reflection nebula vdB 79 and going further east gets you to a larger and more detailed reflection nebula, NGC 2247. Finally, just south of that takes you to one of my favorite parts, the reflection nebula NGC 2245. The swirling gas and dust makes a nice companion to the nearby yellow star. All of the gas and dust in this region is believed to be connected to the Cone Nebula and Christmas Tree Nebula which would make it approximately 2700 light-years away.

For this object I captured approximately four hours of luminosity (no-filter) two hours of each RGB channel for a total of ten hours with my trusty ASI1600. Although I did seem to capture the red Ha-regions which would be on the east side I really like how it turned out - perhaps if I were in a Bortle 3 area and/or used an Ha filter I would have picked it up. The starfield in this region is exceptionally colorful. I did my new trick of only using the RGB stars and blending them into the LRGB starless image using StarXterminator and PixelMath.

 

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Dreyer's Nebula - IC 447 (& others)
Dates: 1-7-22, 1-8, 1-22, 1-25, 1-26
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: ZWO L (None), R, G, B
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to an Agena 50mm Guide Scope/ZWO 60mm Guidescope
Exposure: None 156 x 90, R 89 x 90, G 81 x 90, B 78 x 90
Gain: 139
Offset 20
Sensor Temp: -20 C
Processing: NINA, PixInsight, Photoshop, Topaz DeNoiseAI, StarXTerminator.

https://www.instagram.com/astroquest1/
http://astroquest1.blogspot.com/
https://www.astrobin.com/users/kurtzepp/collections/
http://youtube.com/c/AstroQuest1