Curving across the Autumn night sky somewhat alone in the Perseus constellation, is the large (100 light-years ~ 2.50o) California Nebula. Being something of a prelude to the arrival of Orion and all its exciting objects, I have somewhat neglected this astronomical behemoth, only imaging it for short periods from time to time in the past. Despite continuing poor conditions and with some difficulty, on this occasion I manged nearly 8-hours integration, which with careful processing has brought out the true majesty of this exciting feature.
An emission nebula located some 1,000 light years from Earth, the billowing clouds of hydrogen and sulphur gases and dust, and the faint, wispy veil of oxygen are clearly evident in this powerful SHO image. The intense ultraviolet radiation from the nearby massive star Menkib – with a surface temperature of about 37,000 K and radiation 330,000 times greater than our Sun – plays a key role in ionizing the gasses of the nebula, which ultimately brings this majestic monster to life.
| IMAGING DETAILS | |
| Object | NGC 1499 AKA California Nebula |
| Constellation | Perseus |
| Distance | 1,000 light-years |
| Size | 2.50o ~ 100 light-years |
| Apparent Magnitude | Various |
| Scope | William Optics GT81 + Focal Reducer FL 382mm f4.72 |
| Mount | ZWO AM5 + ASIair plus |
| Guiding | William Optics 50mm guide scope |
| ZWO120MM mini | |
| Camera | ZWO ASI294MM CMOS sensor |
| FOV 2.87o x 1.96o Resolution 2.50”/pix Max. image size 4,144 x 2,822 pix | |
| EFW | ZWOx8 EFW & 31mm Chroma Ha, OIII, SII filters |
| Capture & Processing | ASIair plus, Deep Sky Stacker & PixInsight v1.8.9-3 |
| Image Location & Orientation | Centre = RA 03:59:32.52 DEC +36:37:20.1 Bottom = North |
| Exposures | Ha x32 + OIII x33 + SII x28 x 300 sec Total Integration Time: 7hr 45 min |
| @ Gain 120 @ -20oC | |
| Calibration | 5 x 300 sec Darks 10 x NB Flats & Dark Flats @ ADU 32,000 |
| Location & Darkness | Fairvale Observatory – Redhill – Surrey – UK Typically Bortle 5-6 |
| Date & Time | 11th 20th 21st November 2024 +20.00h |
| Weather | Approx. <15oC RH >=60% 🌙 >=50% |
WATCH THIS SPACE(MAN) 