Close to completing the processing of data taken on my WO Z61 doublet this year, I now come to The Cave in widefield. It did not take much effort to stay true to my original RASA 11 effort of the same target, though narrower field, that can be seen here:
SH2-155, the Cave Nebula and much much more, in OSC. Given the SPCC employed and staying away from color adjustments nor color saturation, I guess I can take the hint that the data is speaking the truth here! The data also confirms from that first effort the extensive, but very subtle reflection nebulosity throughout the left 2/3rds of the frame, though in this wider field we see it extends to additional places. Not surprising considering the dense star-forming region and the stars close by to illuminate some of the receding dust. I won't repeat all the information that was stated in my first effort here.
Of course, I lament the loss of detail that a mere 2.4 inches is capable of compared to my 11 inch. But I applaud the signal depth that this small f5.6 telescope was able to capture in the relative short session time I devoted to the subject.
On the other hand, the widefield exposes us to the mysteries of the three LDNs, 1212, 1211 and 1210. (Reminds me a bit of M78, without such dramatics. Maybe one day those buried stars will burst forth into a more spectacular vision.) One only imagines what star-forming activity is going on behind this spine of dark molecular cloud, as highlighted by the reflection components that belie this activity. Otherwise the widefield here reveals a bunch of other interesting features from top to bottom, including a nice globular-shaped open cluster in NGC7419.
Best wishes in the New Year for eveyone!
Alan
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