The Helping Hand Nebula is a very faint dust cloud in the Cassiopeia constellation. The primary target is the central dust cloud in the shape of a right hand/arm, extended as if to give or offer help. I found this object to be the perfect target for two clear nights over the U.S. Thanksgiving break in 2019. This was a very challenging object for me to capture and process, but it made for a cosmic reflection on helping and giving to those in need, especially in these tumultuous times, throughout the process.
Now, to get on with it...
The dust cloud is comprised of 3 dark nebulae, catalogued as objects of Lynd's Dark Nebulae (LDN): LDN 1357 makes up the fingers, LDN 1355 makes up the palm of the hand, and LDN 1358 is the shoulder of the extended arm.
Below the hand is the reflection nebula, vdB 9, a dust cloud reflecting the bluish light of
SU Cassiopeiae. SU Cas is a
Cepheid variable, a type of star which allows us to accurately measure cosmic distances in our galaxy and beyond. SU Cas is 1540 ly away from us.
At the bottom right of the image lies another reflection nebula, vdB 7, and an eclipsing binary,
RZ Cas.
I hope you enjoy it.
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