Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Perseus (Per)  ·  Contains:  46 Per)  ·  California Nebula  ·  NGC 1499  ·  The star Menkib (ξ Per
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California Nebula, Jim Stevenson
California Nebula
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California Nebula

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
California Nebula, Jim Stevenson
California Nebula
Powered byPixInsight

California Nebula

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Description

California Nebula in Perseus
(shout out to my Golden State fam!)

This is an emission nebula 1000 light years away. It is "lit up" (the hydrogen atoms are excited by and re-emit radiation, hence "emission") by the bright star Menkeb just below it in this image.
It's very large in the sky - 5 times the width of the full moon - but very dim - hence it wasn't discovered until 1884, by US astronomer E.E. Barnard.

Tech Stuff: Askar FRA400 72mm Refractor, ZWO ASI2600MC-Pro Camera, Orion Sirius mount, Baader Moon & Skyglow filter. 270x60s exposures (4.5h). APT Capture, processed with Astro Pixel Processor, PixInsight and Photoshop. Captured 12/20/22 from my home in Rhinebeck, NY.

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California Nebula, Jim Stevenson

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