Perseus OB2 Molecular Cloud Complex, Ha (Stephen Garretson)

Perseus OB2 Molecular Cloud Complex, Ha

At the top of this image is IC 348, both the open cluster and the bright nebula associated with it, both next to the bright star Atik. The main molecular cloud is below them and becomes more diffuse as you move to the bottom of the FOV where you find NGC 1333, catalogued as a reflection nebula. The cloud is an area of active star formation. NGC 1499, the California Nebula, is close by to the northeast, and the Pleiades is equally close to the southeast. I started this project late in the season; getting additional data in other bandwidths is questionable before the Milky Way disappears for a while, so it may need to wait until after galaxy season.

[39] guided 600s Ha subs
total integration: 6 hours, 30 minutes

capture:
For this image each of the three imaging setups is composed of:
Borg 55FL f/3.6, 6 element Petzval Astrograph
ASI 2600MM Pro
Gerd Neumann Camera Tilt Adjuster
ZWO EAF
ZWO EFW
Chroma 3nm Ha filter
ADM Aimer

guiding:
William Optics 50 x 200 Guide Scope
ASI 290M Mini

Paramount MX+

from the Beevo Dome

TheSkyX, SGP, PHD2
PixInsight, Mac OS Photos, Preview

...Stephen

The refractors!

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Distribution of astrophotographers

This table shows the number of distinct astrophotographers who have been assigned and IOTD/TP award compared to the total number of images awarded.
	Distinct awarded users	Total awarded images
Image of the day
Top picks
Top pick nominations

Distribution of subject types

This table shows the distribution of awards per subject type, compared to the popularity of images of that subject type.
	Image of the day	Top pick	Top pick nominations	Total submitted
Deep sky
Solar system
Extremely wide field
Star trails
Northern lights
Noctilucent clouds
Landscape

Distribution of data sources

This table shows the distribution of awards per data source, compared to the popularity of images acquired from that data source.
	Image of the day	Top pick	Top pick nominations	Total submitted
Backyard
Traveller
Own remote observatory
Amateur hosting facility
Public amaeteur data
Professional, scientific grade data
Mix of multiple sources
Other
Unknown

The “AstroBin Image of the Day and Top Picks”, or IOTD/TP, is a long-running system to promote beautiful, interesting, peculiar, or otherwise amazing astrophotographs, with a focus on technical excellence. Learn more.

Submitted The date and time when you submitted this image for IOTD/TP consideration.	...
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Status	Basic pending
Started	...
Astrometry.net job	9608218
PixInsight job	n/a
PixInsight queue size	n/a
PixInsight stage	n/a

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