9/26/2021 Cygnus’ Backside with Full Spectrum DSLR and 85mm Lens

If this image looks familiar it’s because I had one not too different several weeks back. This one has some differences though. This time, I used a fast (f/1.8) 85mm prime lens stopped down to f/2.5 instead of the 75mm-300mm kit zoom at f/4. I like this new lens not only because it is fast but because it is easy to focus too. I used my full spectrum modified Canon T5i. This was made from 45 two minute subs at ISO 800.

Look left of center, that bright star is Deneb, tail of the Swan. Go back to the center then at 2 o’clock, about halfway to the edge the brightest star is Sadr which is where the wings of Cygnus meet the body.

The nebulosity of this region is amazing. In the lower left, you can probably see the North America Nebula and to it’s right the less obvious Pelican nebula with a dark nebula separating them. In the upper right, surrounding Sadr, is the so called Sadr Region. It too is one or more emission nebulae separated by dark nebulae.

Deneb to Sadr and nebulae in the area.

9/9/2021 The Fish Head Nebula

This is the Fish Head Nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia. It is an emission nebula meaning it is glowing rather than reflecting light from nearby stars. It a small part of a larger star forming region which includes the Heart and Soul Nebulae. In this picture, it does look like a fish head facing right.
I shot this Thursday evening with my 11″ SCT at f/6.3 with a dual narrowband filter. This was made from 90 one minute images.

9/6/2021 The Iris Nebula

I tried for this object Sunday night but dew was overwhelming. I tried again Monday night and what a difference a day makes. Dew was barely noticeable even by 11PM. The Iris Nebula (aka NGC 7023) is a reflection nebula in the constellation of Cepheus and one on the prettiest things in the sky as far as I’m concerned. Hard to imagine ever being completely done shooting this object. I shot my first image of this last year with my 11″ at f/1.9, this time I am shooting at f/6.3. This was made from 120 individual one minute exposures with a light pollution filter. After stacking all processing was in Photoshop. It’s called a reflection nebula but there is also dark nebula there (obviously) and an open star cluster (to provide the light to reflect). As always, click the image to see it full size.

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