Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Cassiopeia (Cas)  ·  Contains:  27 Cas)  ·  IC 59  ·  IC 63  ·  LBN 620  ·  LBN 622  ·  LBN 623  ·  LBN 625  ·  LDN 1310  ·  NGC 381  ·  PGC 137357  ·  PGC 137364  ·  PGC 137369  ·  PGC 137384  ·  PGC 137436  ·  PGC 137502  ·  PGC 137544  ·  PGC 137594  ·  PGC 137613  ·  PGC 2796469  ·  PGC 2796470  ·  PGC 2796475  ·  PGC 2796478  ·  PGC 2796479  ·  PGC 2796487  ·  PGC 2796488  ·  PGC 2796495  ·  PGC 2796497  ·  PGC 2796500  ·  PGC 2796501  ·  PGC 2796502  ·  And 19 more.
Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
IC 63, IC 59, NGC 381, Dobashi 3771 and 27 Cas in OSC w Starless Mouse Over.  Mosaic in OSC (Revision), Alan Brunelle
IC 63, IC 59, NGC 381, Dobashi 3771 and 27 Cas in OSC w Starless Mouse Over.  Mosaic in OSC (Revision), Alan Brunelle

IC 63, IC 59, NGC 381, Dobashi 3771 and 27 Cas in OSC w Starless Mouse Over. Mosaic in OSC (Revision)

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
IC 63, IC 59, NGC 381, Dobashi 3771 and 27 Cas in OSC w Starless Mouse Over.  Mosaic in OSC (Revision), Alan Brunelle
IC 63, IC 59, NGC 381, Dobashi 3771 and 27 Cas in OSC w Starless Mouse Over.  Mosaic in OSC (Revision), Alan Brunelle

IC 63, IC 59, NGC 381, Dobashi 3771 and 27 Cas in OSC w Starless Mouse Over. Mosaic in OSC (Revision)

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Acquisition details

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Description

Revision 3/2/2023:
While I was pleased with the first effort, I had hoped to see more with current processing methods and tools.  I am not disappointed.  This was a restart from the very beginning.  I added just a very few subs to each panel from the original data, hence just a revision.  I also started from WBPP.  Mosaicing this turned into a beast and I learned what not to do when doing a mosaic, when to apply BXT, and SpectroPhotometric Color Correction, etc.  The preprocessing, mosaicing and processing that I did, using the xXT tools and the Blanshan star reduction has allowed me to see so so much more in this image.  For aesthetic reasons, I did a lot of star reduction.  But to also help you see some of the more subtle features, I provide a full-frame starless mouseover.  There are a good number of new features seen here, and also confirmation of some of my speculation in the first submission.  
1.  IC 59, the rightmost ghost leaves little doubt that it is closely associated with a dark collection or ridge of molecular clouds that come down from above IC 59 and then seems to exit right as one follows them below and past IC 59. 
2.  The isolated dark molecular clouds above IC 59 appear to be rimmed by subtle reflection components, as if they are being illuminated from behind.  If that is true, then gamma CAS must be closer to IC 59 and 63, with the dark clouds angling toward our line of view.  The dark clouds below IC 59 appear to be somewhat silhoutted by gamma CAS, which would mean they are also closer to us than IC 59.
3.  At ~12 o'clock to IC 59, there are additional faint clouds in a row that seem lightly reflected upon.
4.  There appears to be faint reflection components throughout the image frame.  Clearly gamma CAS is close to this cloud complex and has an extended impact, even well left of its position.  Bluish reflection components similar to the reflection components that are on IC 59 and 62 can be seen also on the third main "lobe" (unnamed) of this emission nebula.  In fact the bluish colors continue even further left of that lobe.  Such subtle reflection coloration can be seen overlaying the whole upper reflection arc and seems to extend into the dark non-emission parts of the image, above and below the two ICs and below gamma CAS.  Ignore the whole area around gamma CAS in the starless image because I did a lot of CloneStamping around the (rather poorly) pasted image of gamma CAS.  And the blue flair was widespread in that area.
5.  I can begin to see clearly dark clouds that widely surround

Dobashi 3771 (Dark Nebula), Cluster [BDS2003], and Reflection/Emission Nebula

However, even at this distance (of course distance is an assumption on my part) from gamma CAS, two faint linear reflection nebulae can be seen to the lower left of Dobashi 3771.  (I will do an update of the Dobashi image with the improved processed image here.  It looks much better in the full sized image if you choose to open my image here and search for this little gem.
6.  I think it can be more confidently stated that the two cloud segments that are IC 59 and 63 appear somehow structurally different.  IC 59 seem less dense and transparent, with emission light from behind leaking through the thinner portions that are at the broader parts.  IC 59 seems feathery.  Why it is clearly able to reflect light from gamma CAS yet not glow in emission is interesting.  IC 63 clearly is able to reflect light as well.  Its shallow reflection components that seem to reside on the peaks of the dust ridges reminds me of the same effect and coloration in parts of the

IC 405 Flaming Star Nebula (New acquisition, QHY268c)

Yet structurally, IC 63 appears denser and smoother, as if it is more resistant to the light-induced erosion of its structure.
7.  Given the distribution of background PGC galaxies visible (You will have to bypass my mouse-over to see the plate solve map), It is clear that the cloud density in this field is less in the bottom half.  As we view this, we are likely looking at the lower, illuminated edge of a dense molecular cloud that is receding upward away from the pressure of gamma CAS and other young hot stars.  The residual faint dark brown clouds seen within the lower left quarter of this field are likely optically not very thick.  Likely, once buried within this cloud, was Dobashi 3771, a star-forming region that contains a young cluster of unimpressive stars.  Probably not unlike the cluster that our Sun was birthed.




Previous Description:
Here is my take on this often imaged ghostly nebula cluster!  Just in time for Halloween, I guess.  As you can see, I threw caution to the wind, blew off any concern with Gamma Cas and decided I would try for a wider than typical view to see if there was interesting stuff other than just IC 63 and 59.

I am rather pleased with this two panel mosaic.  At first review of my subs, I thought that I would toss the leftward panel because it didn't seem like the data was all that exciting.  However, I do think there ended up being enough "stuff" of interest to include both panels.  In fact this area is not that often imaged because of the draw of IC 63 and 59.  But one can see a clear, quite pretty, reflection nebula that escapes the plate solver.  I cannot find a name for this with Simbad.  But it does list it as a cluster.  What makes it interesting is the dark nebula component that eclipses the reflection nebula.  This dark nebula is listed as Dobashi 3771, so I list that here.  Review of information in AstoBin let me down as to this object, so this may be a debut here.  Though as for just about anything that debuts, its image likely resides in someone else's image.  And there is one more that I will let others try to find (where's Waldo!).  Note in edit:  I will add this image to the Rarely Imaged Small DSOs" group with the hope that someone will put their long fl scope onto it in the near future.  I may also create a new page for it cropped to try to add some interest in getting others to image it.  I think that it offers some attractive aspects since it may also have some Ha signal as well.  But SWIR shows that it contains quite the tight cluster and MW IR shows this to be at the tip of a rather large dust cloud, something that completely escapes visible imagery.

Onto the main subjects.  Even for IC 63 and 59, I was not so sure that this would process very well.  But as I got into it I found more and more to like about what I was getting as I proceeded.  I did use photometric color calibration, but I am not sure that I was able to hold the accuracy to the end.  However, one thing that I have not see show up so clearly is the different colors that 63 and 59 display.  While it is clear that these nebulae throughout this much larger arc display both H alpha and reflection light.  I will assume that Gamma Cas is the culprit since this bluish star is positioned and likely adds the bluish cast.  However, 59 clearly has less H alpha glow than 63 and has a stronger blue color.  It may be that the molecular cloud that is 59 is actually closer to us than Gamma Cas and the blue section is somewhat shaded to the UV that would normally fire up the hydrogen.  But IC 59 displays other differences as well.  If one looks closely, 59 appears to be the lower extremity of a rather continuous line of dark nebula that stretch all the way up the upper right part of the image.  Some dark straggler filaments actually continue below IC 59.  I believe that the stragglers are in the foreground and we only see their shaded sides.  What got me excited was that IC 59 also displays a very distinctive structure when compared to IC 63.  IC 59 looks less dense and has more of the appearance of combed fur.  The fibrous structure appears to continue like cotton candy well above the bottom front.  On the other hand IC 63 appears more like the typical eroded dust column that we see so often.  It appears to be more dense and the eroded front facing the stellar winds of Gamma Cas seem dense and resistant.  So maybe what we are seeing here are actually differences in the composition of these two molecular/gas clouds.  There may be something to be said for imaging in visible wavelengths!  

I included the zoomed, starless version as a mouse over, for ease of use.  But I also include the full frame starless as well.  I think the delicate and long parallel filaments seen in the structure of IC 59 are easiest to see in the starless version.  

For processing, the nebulae themselves were processed fairly lightly.  I took care to preserve structure.  The background was more heavily processed for noise and to reduce stars.  These nebulae are much less luminous than most imaged and this is seen clearly in most images posted here.  Certainly, narrow band has its advantages in this regard, especially in its ability to reduce starfield.  But narrow band may actually miss some of the detail that is illuminated more fully with all wavelengths from the black body radiator of Gamma Cass. 
QHY268C, High Gain read out mode, gain 60, offset 12.  I needed to go for the faint stuff and gave up on Gamma Cas.  And I did not do much to reduce the halo.  But I figure, it is far enough away from the good stuff anyway...

I should also state that I tried StarXTerminator for the first time, which worked well.  It allowed me to try some different processing things.  I may buy it.

Comments

Revisions

  • Final
    IC 63, IC 59, NGC 381, Dobashi 3771 and 27 Cas in OSC w Starless Mouse Over.  Mosaic in OSC (Revision), Alan Brunelle
    Original
  • IC 63, IC 59, NGC 381, Dobashi 3771 and 27 Cas in OSC w Starless Mouse Over.  Mosaic in OSC (Revision), Alan Brunelle
    F
  • IC 63, IC 59, NGC 381, Dobashi 3771 and 27 Cas in OSC w Starless Mouse Over.  Mosaic in OSC (Revision), Alan Brunelle
    G

F

Title: Starless Version

Description: Starless version to go with the latest revision.

Uploaded: ...

G

Title: The Old "Original" Image

Description: Had to delete this Original image to allow the revision to be put with a mouseover.

Uploaded: ...

Sky plot

Sky plot

Histogram

IC 63, IC 59, NGC 381, Dobashi 3771 and 27 Cas in OSC w Starless Mouse Over.  Mosaic in OSC (Revision), Alan Brunelle