20211122 - NGC 1499 / Sh-220 (PER) California - The moon-shine state

What’s in the picture(s) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Nebula
Quote: “The California Nebula (NGC 1499/Sh2-220) is an emission nebula located in the constellation Perseus. It is so named because it appears to resemble the outline of the US State of California on long exposure photographs. It is almost 2.5° long on the sky and, because of its very low surface brightness, it is extremely difficult to observe visually. It lies at a distance of about 1,000 light years from Earth. Its fluorescence is due to excitation of the Hβline in the nebula by the nearby prodigiously energetic O7 star, Xi Persei

By coincidence, the California Nebula transits in the zenith in central California as the latitude matches the declination of the object.”

What was the experience
Ever since it has come into view these last months, I wanted to have a go at this DSO. Although it doesn’t look spectacular, it does present a couple of challenges: get sufficient integration time and get detail in the nebula.
Just my luck … the one night that I finally had a clear sky, after weeks of clouds, the full moon was close by, lighting up the Misty haze in the sky, basking California in its light. So I guess I better call it “the moon-shine state” 🙄 … Using the L-enhance filter to try and peer through the moonlight, I got just about enough time in to make something half decent out of it … 

How it was done
Scope: TS-94 APO (FL 414mm)
Mount: EQ6-R Pro
Camera: ASI2600MC Pro
Filter: L-Enhance
Photons: 120s 60s
Darks/Flats/Bias
Processing: PixInsight (Mac)

What have I learned from this
Could’ve done without the full moon 🙄,  would’ve preferred doing it with the L-Pro to get a bit more colour-shading in 😳, instead of this red monotone image. I’m trying s fake Hubble palette in a second processing pass … just to test the processing skills
Constructive guidance is always welcome and appreciated, if it helps me improve my imaging routine and processing skills …

Clear Skies everybody! 🤩✨🔭

Follow me @astrowaut (IG)