Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Cepheus (Cep)  ·  Contains:  NGC 7023
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The Iris Nebula (NGC 7023), Luca Marinelli
The Iris Nebula (NGC 7023)
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The Iris Nebula (NGC 7023)

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
The Iris Nebula (NGC 7023), Luca Marinelli
The Iris Nebula (NGC 7023)
Powered byPixInsight

The Iris Nebula (NGC 7023)

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Description

The Iris Nebula (NGC 7023, Caldwell 4, LBN 487) is a bright reflection nebula in the constellation Cepheus. The nebula (LBN 487) is lit by a magnitude 7 star (SAO 19158). It is located 1,300 light years away and it is 6 light years across.

This image is the result of a combination of data collected over two years. Last year, I collected color data with the Tak FSQ106 refractor, but only collected a limited amount of luminance data. I wanted to attempt to achieve sufficient SNR in the dust surrounding the nebula, which is challenging in my home Bortle 5 skies. I opted to use the TS ONTC 10in Newt to collect luminance data. The much higher efficiency and etendue of the large mirror combined with bigger pixels (KAF8300) boosted SNR collection per unit time compared to the 10cm refractor with tiny pixels, at roughly the same image scale.

To emphasize the nebula I chose to apply slight star de-emphasis using Adam Block's technique. It is a wonderful method to reduce star presence in an image, which results in more natural presentation than morphological transformation. In panels D and E, you can see the effect of star de-emphasis right after LRGB combination.

Color data (2018): Tak FSQ106 with ZWO ASI183MM Pro (Gain: 54, Offset:10)

Luminance data (2019): TS ONTC 10in f4 with Atik 383L+

Comments

Revisions

    The Iris Nebula (NGC 7023), Luca Marinelli
    Original
    The Iris Nebula (NGC 7023), Luca Marinelli
    B
    The Iris Nebula (NGC 7023), Luca Marinelli
    D
    The Iris Nebula (NGC 7023), Luca Marinelli
    E
    The Iris Nebula (NGC 7023), Luca Marinelli
    F
    The Iris Nebula (NGC 7023), Luca Marinelli
    G
  • Final
    The Iris Nebula (NGC 7023), Luca Marinelli
    H

B

Description: Orginal stars without shrinking.

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D

Description: Before star de-emphasis.

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E

Description: After star de-emphasis.

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F

Description: Complete reprocess of the data, including Adam Block's star de-emphasis technique.

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G

Description: Local contrast and curves transformations to enhance the dust.

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H

Description: Slight reduction in median level of the nebulosity and contrast in the dust.

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Sky plot

Sky plot

Histogram

The Iris Nebula (NGC 7023), Luca Marinelli