Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Cygnus (Cyg)

Image of the day 08/31/2014

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    SH2-115 and Berkeley 90, Theodore Arampatzoglou
    SH2-115 and Berkeley 90
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    SH2-115 and Berkeley 90

    Equipment

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    Acquisition details

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    Description

    Sharpless 115 stands just north and west of Deneb. Noted in the 1959 catalog by astronomer Stewart Sharpless (as Sh2-115) the faint but lovely emission nebula lies along the edge of one of the outer Milky Way's giant molecular clouds, about 7,500 light-years away. Shining with the light of ionized atoms of hydrogen, sulfur, and oxygen in this Hubble palette color composite image, the nebular glow is powered by hot stars in star cluster Berkeley 90. The cluster stars are likely only 100 million years old or so and are still embedded in Sharpless 115. But the stars' strong winds and radiation have cleared away much of their dusty, natal cloud. At the emission nebula's estimated distance, this cosmic close-up spans just under 100 light-years.

    http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130614.html

    Sh2-115 proved much more difficult target than i originally thought.

    For collecting the photons i wanted , i had to face extremely bad atmospheric conditions, such as high humidity and temperature, in all 5 nights that needed for completion the whole project.

    It is a beautiful object but very faint particulary in OIII and SII with complex structures.

    Hope you like it ...!

    Instruments and exposure data:

    W.O FLT110 with dedicated TMB field flattener

    FeatherTouch 3'' focuser

    Starizona MicroTouch autofocuser

    W.O ZS80 ED

    SBIG ST10XME CFW9

    Meade DSI

    Filters: Ha 5nm Astrodon_S[II] 8nm Baader_O[III] 3nm Astrodon

    Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro

    Ha:60*10min bin1x1

    S[II]:19*15min bin1x1

    O[III]:23*15min bin1x1_35*10min_bin1x1

    Total exposure time:26h 20min

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