A sickle for cutting hay or some sort of weapon – that’s what I first saw.
Flaming Star Nebula
The Flaming Star nebula (IC405 or Caldwell 31) is fairly unique nebula in the constellation Auriga with obvious emission and reflection components.
At first when imaging this target it appears as an isolated piece of Nebula taking the shape of a sickle for cutting hay or long grass back in the day. (yeah, I’m old). But as the stretch began on this image and the Ha & OIII were rejoined the enormity of the nebulosity became apparent.
Specifically, there’s this faint wisp that is present in the center of the nebula. Both components are due, either directly or indirectly (via dust), to the illumination of the bluish runaway star AE Aurigae. It lies ~1500 light years away from Earth and is about five light years across. It is believed that the proper motion of the central star can be traced back to the Orion’s Belt area. This nebula is very close to the Tadpoles nebula (bottom left of the image).
This image is comprised of 248 subs collected in November 2020 – (81 @ 180s; 129 @ 240s; 38 @ 360s = 987 minutes of exposure or 16.45 hours)
Gear: EQ6r Pro Eq mount; WO Z73 scope; ZWO ASI071MC Pro OSC camera; WO 50mm guidescope; ZWO ASI120mm mini guide camera; Senso Sesto 2 Focuser; Pegasus PBA; Polemaster
Software: Stellarium for planning; APT for image capture; PHD2 guiding; Pixinsight for processing; PS for metadata update and jpg creation.
One may wonder what the three of them have in common. They occupy a very small place in space.
Tadpoles, Spider, Fly – all Nebula
IC410 (bottom right), referred to as the Tadpoles Nebula, is a dusty emission nebula located in the constellation of Auriga about 12,000 ly from Earth. It is part of a larger star forming region that also contains the huge Flaming Star Nebula C 31 (upper right).
The gas structures in IC 410 are lit by the radiation from the open star cluster NGC1893 that lies in its center. This star cluster is about 4 million years old, but in astronomical terms it is still very young, with hot, massive stars.
At the top-left of the star cluster two more dense structures are visible. These are similar to the famous Pillar of Creation and they are composed of dust and gas leftover from the formation of the star cluster and are very likely to give birth to more stars in the future. As can be seen in the picture, these structures point away from the center of the nebula. This is because of the stellar winds and radiation pressure from the stars in NGC 1893. Due to these structure’s shape, the nebula is also called the Tadpoles Nebula.
IC417, located towards the middle of the picture, is named the Spider nebula – requires imagination but in context with NGC1931 (The Fly Nebula) located on the left middle of the image it makes perfect sense.
When I started imaging this target I really had no idea there would be so much nebulosity – everywhere! The very bright stars of the Tadpoles were visible, but the structures from the Flaming Star Nebula region were a nice surprise.
I printed this image on metal with an acrylic wall mount for my own collection.
The North America Nebula (NGC 7000 or Caldwell 20) is an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus, close to Deneb (the tail of the swan and its brightest star). The apparent shape of the nebula resembles that of the continent of North America, complete with a prominent Gulf of Mexico.
There’s much more to this image than what you initially think you see. Layers upon layers of gases in space create illusions. There’s A massively bright star illuminating all of the gases you see. It’s all the same gas field. There’s a huge Dark Nebula so thick that the light from that massively bright star cannot penetrate it – creating the illusion of a gulf of Mexico and a divide between the “two” nebula. Another layer nature added for contrast I’m sure is the Cygnus wall lining the left edge of the nebula. Cygnus’s Wall is a term for the “Mexico and Central America part” of the North America Nebula and exhibits the most concentrated star formations in the nebula. It too is so dense light from behind it does not pass through.
The North America Nebula is part of the same interstellar cloud of ionized hydrogen (H II region) as the Pelican Nebula, separated by a dark band of dust, and listed the two nebulae together as Sh2-117. American astronomer Beverly T. Lynds catalogued the obscuring dust cloud as L935 in her 1962 compilation of dark nebulae. The distinctive dark nebula known as LDN 935 (it should perhaps be called the Hudson Bay nebula). This dark nebula lies at the front of the North America nebula and it blocks the light behind it.
Seeing it: The North America Nebula covers a region more than ten times the area of the full moon, but its surface brightness is low, so normally it cannot be seen with the unaided eye. Binoculars and telescopes with large fields of view (approximately 3°) will show it as a foggy patch of light under sufficiently dark skies. However, using a UHC filter, which filters out some unwanted wavelengths of light, it can be seen without magnification under dark skies. Its shape and reddish color (from the hydrogen Hα emission line) show up only in photographs of the area.
Size: The North America and Pelican nebulae lie 2,590 light years away (795±25 parsecs). The whole HII region Sh2-117 is then 140 light years across, and the North America Nebula stretches 90 light years north to south.
What lights it?: In 2004, European astronomers Fernando Comerón and Anna Pasquali searched for the ionizing star behind L935 at infrared wavelengths, using data from the 2MASS survey, and then made detailed observations of likely suspects with the 2.2 m telescope at the Calar Alto Observatory in Spain. One star, catalogued J205551.3+435225, fulfilled all the criteria. Lying right in the centre of Sh2-117, with a temperature of over 40,000° K, it is almost certainly the ionising star for the North America and Pelican Nebulae.
Later observations have revealed J205551.3+435225 is a spectral type O3.5 star, with another hot star (type O8) in orbit. J205551.3+435225 lies just off the “Florida coast” of the North America Nebula, so it has been more conveniently nicknamed the Bajamar Star (“Islas de Bajamar,” meaning “low-tide islands” in Spanish, was the original name of the Bahamas because many of them are only easily seen from a ship during low tide).
Although the light from the Bajamar Star is dimmed by 9.6 magnitudes (almost 10,000 times) by the dark cloud L935, it is faintly visible at optical wavelengths, at magnitude 13.2. If we saw this star undimmed, it would shine at magnitude 3.6, almost as bright as Albireo, the star marking the swan’s head.
I hope you find this photo as interesting as I do. So much to see.
Known as NGC 1499, the classic emission nebula is around 100 light-years long. In this image, the most prominent glow of the California Nebula is the red light characteristic of hydrogen atoms recombining with long lost electrons, stripped away (ionized) by energetic starlight.
The Soul Nebula is an emission nebula located in the constellation Cassiopeia.
Soul Nebula in Cassiopeia
In astrophotography the key to a good image is integration time, especially if you image with a broadband color camera. This image now consists of 6 hours of exposure on this target. As a newbie in this hobby it takes me time to process an image so I try to wait until sufficient data has been collected before starting the process. Of course opportunities for imaging are sparse in the cloudy nights of summer here in the blue ridge. Fall is coming!
The Soul Nebula is an emission nebula located in the constellation Cassiopeia. It forms a famous pair known as the Heart and Soul with the neighbouring Heart Nebula (IC 1805). The Soul Nebula is sometimes also known as the Embryo Nebula or IC 1848, which is a designation used for the open star cluster embedded within the nebula.
The Heart and Soul Nebulae complex spans an area about 300 light years across and is a vast star-forming region illuminated by the light of the young stars surrounded by star-forming clouds of dust and gas. The two large clouds are separated by only 2.5 degrees and physically connected by a bridge of gas. The stars in the region are less than a few million years old and are only beginning their life. For comparison, our Sun has been around for almost 5 billion years.
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The Soul Nebula is the companion to IC 1805, the Heart Nebula. You can see some of the Heart Nebula in the top right of this image.
Google the Soul Nebula for all the technical stuff people generally cite.
For me this target in August rises above my trees at a little past midnight. Clouds cut my time with this image short as it is only 2 hours of integration time. I plan to spend more time on this target tonight if the skies are clear. No calibration frames – just the images taken.
Another cool fact is that it is also known as the Embryo Nebula.
It is a large emission nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia. Fits within the frame of my 73mm lens.
Imaging the Iris Nebula was a bit of a challenge for me. Dark nebula!
The Iris Nebula is a bright reflection nebula in the constellation Cepheus. The designation NGC 7023 refers to the open cluster within the larger reflection nebula designated LBN 487.
The bright blue reflection among the dark nebula is striking. A few very bright stars in the region add a bit of character.
This image is comprised of 92 light frames. No calibration frames. Dithered every image. I’ll try this target again once I have the Meade ETX-90 added to my mount.
NGC 6910 – Inchworm Cluster / Rocking Horse Cluster. It is a small open cluster located near Gamma Cygni (Sadr) in the constellation of Cygnus. It lies approximately 3700 light years away, near the galactic plane. It is embedded in IC 1316, a much larger emission nebula.
Sadr, Gamma Cygni (γ Cyg) is a yellow-white supergiant star. With an apparent magnitude of 2.23, it is the constellation’s second brightest star, after Deneb. Sadr lies at an approximate distance of 1,800 light years from Earth. It is the star that marks the intersection of the Northern Cross, a bright asterism that dominates the summer sky in the northern hemisphere. Sadr lies in a rich field of the Milky Way and is surrounded by the diffuse emission nebula IC 1318, also known as the Gamma Cygni Nebula or Sadr Region.
IC 1318 – Sadr is surrounded by the emission nebula IC 1318, one of the several nebulous regions at the centre of the Northern Cross. IC 1318 is known as the Gamma Cygni Nebula, Sadr Region or the Butterfly Nebula. It is not physically related to Sadr, but merely lies in the same line of sight. The nebula is located much farther away than the star, at a distance of 4,900 light years. The star that illuminates IC 1318 is a hot, blue O9-class star obscured by interstellar dust.
Sadr is the central star of the Northern Cross, also formed by the bright Deneb (Alpha Cygni), Albireo (Beta Cygni), Aljanah (Epsilon Cygni) and Fawaris (Delta Cygni). Deneb, Sadr and Albireo form the pole of the cross, while Aljanah and Fawaris mark the crossbeam.
The name Sadr (pronunciation: /ˈsædər/) comes from the Arabic ṣadr, meaning “chest.” It has the same etymology as the name of Alpha Cassiopeiae, Schedar. The name has also been spelled Sadir or Sador. It refers to the star’s position in the constellation, marking the Swan’s chest. The name was officially approved by the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) on August 21, 2016. It formally applies only to Gamma Cygni A.
Sadr is very easy to find because it lies at the intersection of the bright, large Northern Cross asterism. The Northern Cross is easy to spot on a clear night. It lies within the larger Summer Triangle, a brighter summer asterism formed by Deneb with Vega in the constellation Lyra and Altair in Aquila.
Sadr is located in the vicinity of several interesting deep sky objects. The Rocking Horse Cluster (NGC 6910) is an open cluster located only half a degree east and a little north of the star. It is at a similar distance as the Gamma Cygni Nebula and may be physically associated with it. The cluster has an apparent magnitude of 7.4 and occupies an area of 10’. The neighbouring open cluster Collinder 419 (Cr 419) is only slightly fainter, with a visual magnitude of 7.60.
Sadr is located in the constellation Cygnus. Representing the celestial Swan, Cygnus is one of the larger northern constellations, stretching across 804 square degrees of the apparent sky. It is known mainly for the Northern Cross and its bright stars Deneb, the 19th brightest star in the sky, and Albireo, a famous contrasting double.
The Sadr Region of Cygnus
The constellation contains a number of well-known deep sky objects, among others the bright open clusters Messier 29, Messier 39 and NGC 6910, the Fireworks Galaxy (NGC 6946), and several bright nebulae, including the North America Nebula (NGC 7000), the Pelican Nebula (IC 5070), the Veil Nebula (NGC 6960, 6962, 6979, 6992 and 6995), the blinking planetary nebula (NGC 6826), and the nebulae near Sadr: the Gamma Cygni Nebula (IC 1318) and the Crescent Nebula (NGC 6888).
The best time of year to see the stars and deep sky objects in the constellation is during the month of September.
Key Facts & Summary
Sadr is located at around 1,800 light-years / 560 parsecs away from the Sun.
Sadr is the second brightest star in the constellation of Cygnus, after Deneb. This star is also among the brightest stars in the night sky.
Its location marks the intersection of the Northern Cross, a bright asterism that dominates the summer sky in the northern hemisphere.
In comparison to our Sun, Sadr is around 33,023 times brighter, yet it is several times younger, having an estimated age of around 12 million years.
Sadr has around 12.11 solar masses and a radius of 150 times that of our Sun.
Sadr is a supergiant star of spectral type FB8 lab, appearing yellowish-white in color.
The star is surrounded by a diffuse nebula called IC 1318, or the Gamma Cygni region.
The star’s name, Sadr, is derived from Arabic and it translates to “chest.” The same word gave rise to the name of the star Schedar – Alpha Cassiopeiae.
Sadr formed at around 12 million years ago from an interstellar medium of gas and dust. Gravity pulled the swirling gas and dust together until it reached the critical temperature, giving birth to the second-brightest star in Cygnus, named Sadr.
It is quite a young star and the interstellar medium from which it was born was probably abundant in elements such as hydrogen, thus the reason for its short lifespan, as Sadr will eventually go supernova.
Sadr has reached the supergiant stage of its stellar evolution and thus its radius has expanded and it will probably continue to expand several times its former size.
Since Sadr is so massive, it will one day go supernova and illuminate a big portion of the night sky, despite being such a young star.
NGC 6910 is an open cluster in the constellation Cygnus and is located half a degree east-north east of Gamma Cygni, also known as Sadr.
This image is a stack of 23 4 min light frames at 20f, 30 darks, flats and dark-flats. Taken Aug 2, 2020 in below-average seeing & transparency during a full moon (99% illuminated, age 14 days). Was impossible to achieve good focus in a hazy sky with 99% humidity.
This night was a test of guiding under PHD2 as I added a guide scope and camera to my configuration as well as automated scripts for the evenings shooting plan (limited success) Hopefully guiding will allow me to extend the exposure times in these Nebula images to 10 minutes. Do to learning issues, 7 frames of the 30 taken had to be tossed into the junk bin.
Gear: EQ6R mount; WO Z73 w/flat73a; ZWO ASI071MC Pro camera, WO 50mm guide scope; ZWO ASI120mm mini guide scope; Senso Sesto focuser; Pegasus PBA; OPT L-enhance filter; Acer Netbook
Software: APT for acquisition; PHD2 guiding; DSS stacking; PI processing with final touches in PS.
My imaging rig being set up in the afternoon.
Much more time on a clear night is desirable. Subscribe below to receive update notifications for future images and posts. Cheers!
The Heart Nebula lies some 7500 light years away from Earth and is located in the Perseus Arm of the Galaxy in the constellation Cassiopeia. It was discovered by William Herschel on 3 November 1787. It is an emission nebula showing glowing ionized hydrogen gas and darker dust lanes.
The brightest part of the nebula (a knot at its western edge) is separately classified as NGC 896 and known as the Fish Head Nebula, because it was the first part of the nebula to be discovered.
The nebula’s intense red output and its morphology are driven by the radiation emanating from a small group of stars near the nebula’s center. This open cluster of stars at the Heart’s heart, known as Melotte 15, contains a few bright stars nearly 50 times the mass of our Sun, and many more dim stars that are only a fraction of our Sun’s mass.
This image is comprised of 40 images of 4 min exposures each for a total integration of 2hrs 40mins. Each image was shot at 100 gain & 20 offset in a ZWO ASI071MC Pro camera cooled to 20f. 20 darks, 20 flats, 20 bias frames as calibration frames.
This nebula is in a late rising constellation in our summer months. I was able to begin imaging at 2AM and photographed continuously until a few minutes past 5AM. Do you see the heart? How about the fishhead? There’s also a soul nebula located just outside of this images frame. I’ll image that in the future. The FOV of my Z73 is just a touch to narrow to get them both in the same shot.
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