Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Aquarius (Aqr)  ·  Contains:  Helix nebula  ·  NGC 7293
Helix Nebula (Through lots of light pollution), CosmicCricket
Helix Nebula (Through lots of light pollution)
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Helix Nebula (Through lots of light pollution)

Helix Nebula (Through lots of light pollution), CosmicCricket
Helix Nebula (Through lots of light pollution)
Powered byPixInsight

Helix Nebula (Through lots of light pollution)

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Description

This ended up being one of the more difficult images I've attempted (the whole endeavor was a comical fiasco), as well as my first image combining data from multiple nights.

Night 1: Set up in the field of a local middle school because I have a clear line of site. Spend a couple hours getting set up and calibrated, just to have all of the school's sodium lights turn on and wash out my exposures!

Night 2: Tried to shoot it from the backyard, realized that I would have to take "pot shots" at it in between the branches of a nearby oak tree. An exercise in frustration.

Night 3: I attempt to shoot it again, weeks later. I start later in the night when it clears the nearby trees in the sky, but now it's next to a bright moon. The small hairdryer I used to mitigate dew on my lens (I've since got a proper dew heater) blows the fuse on my power system.

I invent a new compound curse word, kick dirt, and give up for the night :/

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Helix Nebula (Through lots of light pollution), CosmicCricket