LBN641 - A Portion of a Supernova Remnant (HB3)

Although LBN641 is not commonly imaged on its own, it pops up in many widefield images of the IC1805 a.k.a. the Heart Nebula. It is actually a portion of a very faint but large supernova remnant (SNR) designated as HB3 (SNR G132.7+1.3) just west of IC1795 a.k.a. the Fishhead Nebula. Although there is not much information on LBN641, I did find some information on the Deep-sky Imaging webpage by Charles Bracken. The SNR was detected by a radio survey in 1953. Following the survey a small amount of hydrogen (Ha) was detected, however, the OIII was not detected until 1982. It is estimated that the supernova event that created this nebula occurred 30,000 years ago.

There is quite a bit of Ha and OIII scattered throughout the region, however, it is quite dim in fact the OIII was barely visible in any of the subframes. I did some star reduction and could have done more in order to bring out the nebula more but I really like the colorful starfield. I know I am behind the times but I finally got Spectral Photometric Color Calibration (SPCC) to work so I have a better feeling the star colors are somewhat accurate. SPCC along with the new version of BlurXTerminator made processing the stars a breeze. I really like the fine wispy detail in the out edges of the nebula, especially the Ha portion so I decided to keep the image background on the darker side. I have seen more nebulosity in some images of this region including my widefield attempt from last year, but doing that masks some of the fine detail so it is a bit of a balancing act.

Dates: 9-26-23, 9-27, 10-2, 10-3, 10-4, 10-22, 10-23, 10-24, 11-1, 11-2, 11-7, 11-9, 11-12, 11-14, 11-16, 11-18
 

LBN641 - A Portion of a Supernova Remnant (HB3)
Dates: 9-26-23, 9-27, 10-2, 10-3, 10-4, 10-22, 10-23, 10-24, 11-1, 11-2, 11-7, 11-9, 11-12, 11-14, 11-16, 11-18
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, OIII; ZWO R, G, B
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to an Agena 50mm Guide Scope/ZWO 60mm Guidescope
Exposure: Ha 163 x 300, OIII 148 x 300, R 72 x 90, G 68 x 90, B 60 x 90
Gain: 139
Offset 20
Sensor Temp: -10 C
Processing: NINA, PixInsight, Photoshop, BlurXTerminator, StarXTerminator, NoiseXTerminator, GraXpert, Bill Blanchan Star Reduction, Bill Blanchan Color Masks.

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IC 5146 - Cocoon Nebula (wide field)

This is my wide field shot of the region around IC 5146, the Cocoon Nebula (also Caldwell 19, Sh 2-125, Barnard 168), in the Cygnus constellation. IC 5146 is an emission and reflection nebula 15 light years wide and located 4000 light years away. There is a lot of dust in around IC 5146 with a dark dust tail containing several dark nebulae streaming towards the top of my image. These dark nebulae are in Lynds Dark Nebula catalog and designated LDN 1042, 1045, 1047, 1030, 1031, 1040, 1035 and 1040 where LDN 1042 is closest to IC 5146 and LDN 1040 is farthest away. My favorite is LDN 1035 which seems to resemble a crown at the top center of my image.

IC 5146 is relatively bright and ionized hydrogen gas gives it the reddish glow. The small blue reflection nebula to the upper right of IC 5146 is vdB 147. This image was taken with the ASI2600 MC (a color camera) and I did not use a filter in order to capture the heavily dusted region as well as the stars, however, to capture the faint red glow of the ionized hydrogen in the background I used the dual band IDAS NBZ filter. This filter is capable of picking up ionized hydrogen (red) and ionized oxygen (blue). The two separate images were then blended inorder to highlight the dust and stars of the unfiltered data and the glowing hydrogen of the filtered image.

On the left side of the image there is a blue nebula surrounding bright star coordinates, ~ 49 03 16, 22 00 23, which only shows up in the data collected using the dual band IDAS NBZ filter. Since it is blue that would indicate that it is composed of oxygen rather than the hydrogen that predominates most of the background in this region.

Addendum: The OIII nebulosity on the left is indeed an object discovered in 2019 by Marcel Drechsler and Andreas Zirke. They described it as an OIII structure surrounding the star HD 209204 and designated it as Drechsler - Zirke 1 (https://www.astrobin.com/f8o5xg/?q=Drechsler-%20Zirke%201).

Dates: 10-2-23, 10-3, 10-4, 10-10, 10-11, 10-12, 10-13, 11-1, 11-2, 11-5, 11-12

Combined RGB and IDAS NBZ

RGB 

IC 5146 - Cocoon Nebula (wide field)
Dates: 10-2-23, 10-3, 10-4, 10-10, 10-11, 10-12, 10-13, 11-1, 11-2, 11-5, 11-12
Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC Pro
Telescope: Askar FRA300 Pro
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 300mm
F/5
Focal Reducer: None
Mount: Orion Atlas Pro
Filter Adaptor: ZWO Filter Drawer
Filter: IDAS NBZ, Camera UV-IR
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to a ZWO Mini guidescope
Exposure: UV-IR 358 x 120 (11h 56m), NBZ 318 x 180 (15h 54m)
Gain: 100
Offset 0
Temp: -10 C
Processing: Asiair app, PixInsight, Photoshop, BlurXT, NoiseXT, StarX, Bill's Color Masks, Bill's Star Reduction, GraXpert

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LDN 1357 - Helping Hand Nebula

So this is my version of LDN 1357, nicknamed the Helping Hand Nebula, in the constellation Cassiopeia. However, there are numerous other areas of interest in this dusty region such as dark nebulae, reflection nebulae, and colorful stars. Near the hand (center left) is the Yellow giant star SU Cassiopeiae, a Cepheid variable star 19 times larger than our sun 1289 light-years away. Blue reflection nebula VdB 9 (LBN 643) surrounds SU Cas for which it owes its brightness. Unfortunately, big stars is the one thing that my old trusty ASI1600 workhorse camera does not do well as it produces those geometric reflections - oh well (newer ZWO cameras do not have this issue).

Another very cool star is in the lower right, RZ Cassiopeiae. This star is also a variable star which is much closer at 219 light-years away and is also surrounded by a blue nebula designated as VdB 7. Although RZ Cas appears to be the source for the nebulosity around VdB 7, research indicates that it is actually a smaller nearby star.

Several dark nebulae are located in the center of dense dusty regions going through the image like a lightning bolt. LDN 1357 is the dark area located on the left most portion while LDN 1355 is the dark area on what appears to be the palm just above SU Cas. The center top houses another dark area known as LDN 1358.

This is another object that was out of my FOV until this year when some new neighbors cut some trees down and opened a small window. The one downside is that a lot of the window starts low in the sky so it is not the most ideal imaging conditions. It is also very dim so there was nothing in the RGB subframes and only a hint in the luminosity. This object would be much improved if it were captured at a darksite. Still I was happy to get this but I had to do a lot processing gymnastics to pull out the nebula.

LDN 1357 - Helping Hand Nebula
Dates: 9-19-23, 9-20, 10-10, 10-11, 10-12, 11-2, 11-5, 11-10
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: Antlia Ha, OIII; ZWO L, R, G, B
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to an Agena 50mm Guide Scope/ZWO 60mm Guidescope
Exposure: Lum 263 x 120, R 100 x 90, G 122 x 90, B 113 x 90
Gain: 139
Offset 20
Sensor Temp: -10 C
Processing: NINA, PixInsight, Photoshop, BlurXTerminator, StarXTerminator, NoiseXTerminator, Bill Blanshen Masks, GraXpert.

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Remote Imaging: Avoid Problems & Live Stacking - ASIAIR #astro #astropho...

 

Processed

Processed Crop

 

Unprocessed - Background Extraction

NGC 281 - Pacman Nebula
Dates: 11-1-23
Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC Pro
Telescope: Askar FRA300 Pro
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 300mm
F/5
Focal Reducer: None
Mount: ZWO AM3
Filter Adaptor: ZWO Filter Drawer
Filter: IDAS NBZ

Focuser: None
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to a ZWO Mini guidescope
Exposure: UV-IR 10 x 60
Gain: 100
Offset 0
Temp: -10 C
Processing: Asiair app, PixInsight, Photoshop, BlurXT, NoiseXT, StarX, GraXpert

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Crescent Nebula, WR 134, & Many More!

The main object in this view is the Crescent Nebula, on the left (also known as NGC 6888, Caldwell 27, Sharpless 105), which is an emission nebula located approximately 5000 light-years away in Cygnus. Current structure is a result of a collision of faster moving stellar wind from Wolf-Rayet Star WR 136 with slower moving wind from when the star ejected its outer layers when it became a red giant 250,000 to 500,000 years ago. The resulting collision has ionized the gas causing it to glow. The second most prominent object is Wolf-Rayet star WR 134, on the right, located approximately 6000 ly away, which like the NGC 6888 is also blowing off its outer layers at very high speeds. The blue arc was produced when the outer layer collided with the gas that was already surrounding the star. 

Both the Crescent Nebula and WR 134 show a strong Oxygen III signal (blue color) in addition to the more common Hydrogen Alpha (red color). I used the IDAS NBZ dual band filter and was very pleased to pick up so much of the fainter less abundant Oxygen. To the lower left south of the Crescent is a recently discovered (2007) planetary nebula named the Soap Bubble Nebula (a.k.a PN G075.5+01.7). It is very faint and found only in the OIII band. Below the Soap Bubble another emission nebula LBN 209 that contains an oxygen rich blue region. Just scrolling around in that same area further to the left I discovered a tiny PN that does not show up on the Stellarium or Astrobin Plate Solver. I was about to give up on this nebula but then I thought of all the work Gary Imm does especially with his new compendium and searched on Simbad, turns out this PN is designated as PNA66 69 (RA 20 19 58.3 / DEC +38 24 02.16). Although it is very small it looks surprisingly well defined in my widefield setup, might be worth a look with more focal length. 

If I had to do this over I would have framed it a bit lower to fully incorporate LBN 195 & SH2-104 on the center bottom. I also like the swirling ribbon-like structure of the hydrogen gas in this entire region. I did end up tossing about four hours of data but in order to image at all in New England you have to collect data when you can even if it is not ideal in the hopes that some usable data will be obtained.

 

Crescent Nebula, WR 134, & Many More!
Dates: 8-22-23, 8-23, 8-31, 9-1, 9-3, 9-4, 9-6, 9-14, 9-19, 9-20
Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC Pro
Telescope: Askar FRA300 Pro
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 300mm
F/5
Focal Reducer: None
Mount: Orion Atlas Pro
Filter Adaptor: ZWO Filter Drawer
Filter: IDAS NBZ, Camera UV-IR
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to a ZWO Mini guidescope
Exposure: UV-IR 53 x 90, NBZ 229 x 300
Gain: 100
Offset 0
Temp: 0 C
Processing: Asiair app, PixInsight, Photoshop, BlurXT, NoiseXT, StarX, Bill's Color Masks, Bill's Star Reduction, GraXpert

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LBN 576 (Abell 85) - Supernova Remnant

LBN 576, also known as Abell 85 (or CTB 1), is a remnant supernova event that occurred 10,000 years ago towards the constellation of Cassiopeia. It was formed when a star used up all of its elemental fuel and exploded. The glowing shell of gas nicknamed the Popped Balloon or Medulla Nebula glows in visible light as a result of its collision with interstellar gas.

This is a first for me on this object and I am quite happy with the results. It is very faint which is most likely why it is not imaged as much as the nearby Heart and Soul Nebula, in fact there was barely anything in any of the subframes. Processing was interesting as I used the new AI version GraXpert Gradient Extractor (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzDDafSrZ7k&t=0s) which was incredibly simple. I have been using just BXT for star reduction but this time I experimented with the settings to keep better star shapes but it did not reduce the stars as much, so I did addition reduction with Bill's star reduction and with using curves. The hard part in processing was trying to keep as much Ha detail while incorporating the OIII data. After doing a normal HOO blend I added the Ha as luminosity because of its great detail but it drowned out the OIII. After doing several additional OIII bends, the detail and OIII color were preserved.

Dates: 8-22-23, 8-23, 8-27, 8-31, 9-1, 9-3, 9-4, 9-6, 9-12, 9-14, 9-16

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LBN 576 (Abell 85) - Supernova Remnant
Dates: 8-22-23, 8-23, 8-27, 8-31, 9-1, 9-3, 9-4, 9-6, 9-12, 9-14, 9-16
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, OIII; ZWO L, R, G, B
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to an Agena 50mm Guide Scope/ZWO 60mm Guidescope
Exposure: Ha 107 x 300, OIII 97 x 300, R 39 x 90, G 42 x 90, B 45 x 90
Gain: 139
Offset 20
Sensor Temp: 0 C
Processing: NINA, PixInsight, Photoshop, BlurXTerminator, StarXTerminator, NoiseXTerminator, Grapert, Bill Blanchan Star Reduction.

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Askar FRA300 Pro Review & Comparison to Canon 200mm! #astro #astrophotog...