Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Cepheus (Cep)  ·  Contains:  Sh2-129

Image of the day 06/19/2020

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    SH2-129 and OU4, Thomas Richter
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    SH2-129 and OU4

    Acquisition type: Electronically-Assisted Astronomy (EAA, e.g. based on a live video feed)

    Image of the day 06/19/2020

    Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
      SH2-129 and OU4, Thomas Richter
      Powered byPixInsight

      SH2-129 and OU4

      Acquisition type: Electronically-Assisted Astronomy (EAA, e.g. based on a live video feed)

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      Description

      It was a really hard object. OU4 is extremely faint ! There was almost nothing to be seen in the single frames. Only after stacking I could see a faint nebula. So the image processing was very difficult.

      Object description: (https://apod.nasa.gov):

      A mysterious, squid-like apparition, this nebula is very faint, but also very large in planet Earth's sky. In the mosaic image, composed with narrowband data from the 2.5 meter Isaac Newton Telescope, it spans some 2.5 full moons toward the constellation Cepheus. Recently discovered by French astro-imager Nicolas Outters, the remarkable nebula's bipolar shape and emission are consistent with it being a planetary nebula, the gaseous shroud of a dying sun-like star, but its actual distance and origin are unknown. A new investigation suggests Ou4 really lies within the emission region SH2-129 some 2,300 light-years away. Consistent with that scenario, the cosmic squid would represent a spectacular outflow of material driven by a triple system of hot, massive stars, cataloged as HR8119, seen near the center of the nebula. If so, this truly giant squid nebula would physically be nearly 50 light-years across.

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