Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Taurus (Tau)  ·  Contains:  NGC 1514
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NGC 1514 the Crystal Ball Nebula  Heavily Cropped, RonAdams
NGC 1514 the Crystal Ball Nebula  Heavily Cropped
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NGC 1514 the Crystal Ball Nebula Heavily Cropped

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
NGC 1514 the Crystal Ball Nebula  Heavily Cropped, RonAdams
NGC 1514 the Crystal Ball Nebula  Heavily Cropped
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NGC 1514 the Crystal Ball Nebula Heavily Cropped

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Description

When I imaged this object I thought I was imaging Comet 64P Swift-Gehrels. I tried to locate the comet with my 8 Inch Newt and my ED80 Refractor. I could never find the comet. I decided to try my William Optics ZenithStar 61 Refractor because it has a wide field of view. I placed my Red Dot finder where I thought the comet should be. I took a test image and got nothing. I looked at the sky again and then looked at a sky chart showing where the comet should be. I moved the scope a little and took another test image. This time I could see a faint fuzzy in the image. I assumed it was the comet. I took all of my light frames, dark frames and Bios frames. I processed the image. However the object did not look quite like a comet. I've imaged a lot of comets but I've never imaged one with this small aperture scope. I thought that might be the reason the object didn't look like other comets I've imaged. When I plate solved the image I was informed that this object was NGC 1514 the Crystal Ball Nebula. I went on the internet to see what NGC 1514 looked like. I then reprocessed the image and cropped the image heavily. I could see that this object was in fact NGC 1514. However the image leaves a lot to be desired. A 61mm refractor is definitely not the best choice for imaging a tiny, dim planetary nebula. So with all of that said. Please enjoy my first image of NGC 1514.

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NGC 1514 the Crystal Ball Nebula  Heavily Cropped, RonAdams