Sh2-94 - Part of a Large Supernova Remnant (2022)

Sh2-94 - Part of a Large Supernova Remnant (2022) Sharpless 94 (Sh2-94) is a part of a very faint supernova remnant (SNR) which includes Sh2-91 and SH2-96. This nebula has quite a bit of oxygen as well as hydrogen which are producing the ropy red and blue strands. I have already imaged Sh2-91 as a mosaic and planned to do Sh2-94 as another mosaic but the second panel did not come out well (the moon was out most of the time and is now out of my reach). Too bad as I imaged it over several nights but that is the breaks - so this is only the first panel. The red and blue strands are all filaments of the SNR with a diameter of about 230 light-years (70 parsecs) and an age approximately 30,000 years. It is located in Cygnus very close to the Veil Nebula but further away at 2500 light-years (Ly) as opposed to 1500 Ly for the Veil and it is four times older.

I like how this came out even though it is framed kind of weird due to my failed attempt at a mosaic. I will plan to do this whole thing next year when it becomes visible again and I have time to properly plan the mosaic. I used some new methods of color masks thanks to Bill Blanshan (and thanks to Cuiv the Lazy Geek for making the video). Bill's color masks worked incredibly well at making the red and blue nebulosity so I could then make adjustments to them. In addition, I have been using StarXTerminator by Russell Croman for quite a while but I just purchased his NoiseXTerminator and was most pleased with that as well. I did my standard reduction and probably could have done more, however, the starfield was very rich and colorful so I did not go further.

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Sh2-94 - Part of a Large Supernova Remnant (2022)

Dates: 9-13, 9-14, 9-15, 9-17, 9-22, 9-23, 9-24
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: ZWO Ha, OIII, R, G, B
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to an Agena 50mm Guide Scope/ZWO 60mm Guidescope
Exposure:
Plane1 - Ha 67 x 300, OIII 59 x 300, R 46 x 60, G 37 x 60, B 36 x 60
Gain: 139
Offset 20
Sensor Temp: -10 C
Processing: NINA, PixInsight, Photoshop, Topaz DeNoiseAI, StarXTerminator.

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Quick M31 from a Public Observing Session!

I decided to collect some data on M31 while doing a public observing session for Boothe Memorial Astronomical Society the other night. I had my portable setup which consists of the ASIAIR, Atlas Mount, ASI2600MC, and Canon 200mm Lens and was bouncing around to various objects when I stopped here for a bit. Boothe Park is located in Stratford which is not known for astronomical imaging given its Bortle 7 skies but I imaged anyway. I think it came out pretty well using what had. I collected 40 minutes using the UV-IR filter and 30 minutes using the NBZ filter in an effort to get some Ha but probably would have been better just collecting more regular data. 

M31, M32, and M110
Dates: 10-21-22
Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC-Pro
Telescope: Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM Lens
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 200mm
f/4 with stepdown rings
Focal Reducer: None
Mount: Orion Atlas Pro
Filter Wheel/Drawer: ZWO EOS Filter Drawer
Filter: Baader UV-IR, IDAS Nebula Booster NBZ Filter
Focuser: None
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to a ZWO Mini 30/120mm Guidescope
Exposure: UV-IR 27 x 90s, NBZ 20 x 90s
Gain: 100
Sensor Temp: -10 C
Processing: ASIAIR Pro, PixInsight, Photoshop, StarXTerminator.
Power: BINZET AC to DC 12V 10A 120W Power Supply

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The Cosmic Question Mark? - NGC 7822 & SH2-170

Located approximately 3300 light-years (ly) away in the constellation of Cepheus is a large emission nebula known as NGC 7822. The object also goes by SH2-171 and is less commonly referred to as Cederblad 214 (Ced 214). The nebular complex is 65- light-years across and consists of many smaller bright nebulae, dark nebula, and a young star cluster designated as Berkeley 59. The dark 'pillars' in the center of the nebula are filled with cold dust and gas. Interaction between these regions and the bright areas of gas and dust are responsible for creating the Berkeley 59 cluster - the small grouping of stars in the blue-white region of the central portion of the NGC7822. Powerful winds and radiation from the star cluster further sculpt these pillars much like the more famous 'Pillars of Creation' in the Eagle Nebula.

SH2-170 or the Little Rosette Nebula makes up the small period underneath the main portion of the question mark. This nebula only appears small because it is much further away at 7500 light-years. I imaged this last year with my much larger focal length Celestron EdgeHD 800 (https://www.astrobin.com/fcjeyt/?nc=collection&nce=712). For comparison, SH2-170 is about 45 light-years across compared to NGC 7822 at 65 light-years across.

Overall I am pretty happy with the outcome especially with 30.5 hours of total exposure. I wish that faint nebulosity at and below SH2-170 came out better but I did what I could. I imaged over numerous nights and had to trash a lot of subpar exposures so really there was more than 40 hours. The Canon 200mm Lens - ZWO ASI2600MC makes for a really good widefield setup if you already have the camera lens or prefer camera lens setups, however, a true small focal length astrograph would be better in my opinion. I am planning to do one more project with the Canon 200mm Lens/ZWO ASI2600MC on the Orion Atlas Pro mount before reattaching the Edge to the mount.

Dates: 9-13-22, 9-14-22, 9-15-22, 9-17-22, 9-20-22, 9-23-22, 9-24-22, 9-27-22, 9-28-22

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The Cosmic Question Mark? - NGC 7822 & SH2-170 
Dates: 9-13-22, 9-14-22, 9-15-22, 9-17-22, 9-20-22, 9-23-22, 9-24-22, 9-27-22, 9-28-22
Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC-Pro
Telescope: Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM Lens
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 200mm
f/4 with stepdown rings
Focal Reducer: None
Mount: Orion Atlas Pro
Filter Wheel/Drawer: ZWO EOS Filter Drawer
Filter: IDAS Nebula Booster NBZ Filter
Focuser: None
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to a ZWO Mini 30/120mm Guidescope
Exposure: 366 x 300
Gain: 100
Sensor Temp: 0 C
Processing: ASIAIR Pro, PixInsight, Photoshop, StarXTerminator.
Power: BINZET AC to DC 12V 10A 120W Power Supply

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