Menkib (ξ Persei) Meets the Nebula (NGC 1499) (Daniel Erickson)

Celestial hemisphere: Northern · Constellation: Perseus (Per) · Contains: 46 ksi Per · California Nebula · IC 2005 · Menkib · NGC 1499 · Sh2-220 · The star ξPer

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Menkib (ξ Persei) Meets the Nebula (NGC 1499)

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Menkib (ξ Persei) Meets the Nebula (NGC 1499)

It is easy, I think, to be captivated by DSO. In so doing, I believe we often forget the stars that are formed from or form these DSOs. In my own case, when I take a photo, I often end up more interested in some of the stars in my images rather than the DSO.

This is my first image of the California Nebula (NGC 1499). There is just over two hours of exposure and I cropped the image down for some additional visual interest. I am pleased with the outcome, but am more pleased about the surrounding stars. In particular, the star to the (lower) right of the nebula is the blue giant, ξ Persei (also called Menkib). It is a class O7.5III star, weighing in at about 30 times heavier than Sol and is one of the hottest stars visible to the naked eye, with a surface temperature reported to be 35k K (our sun is "only" about 6k K).

Nebulae are interesting, but so are the stars. Don't forget about those stars!

I hope you enjoy the picture.

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Status	Advanced success
Started	...
Astrometry.net job	4065381
PixInsight job	YYAIP0S5PUL8S310LJG8Q5LPBYO3D3RM
PixInsight queue size	n/a
PixInsight stage	n/a

RA (center)	04h01m04s.40
RA (top/left)	04h03m16s.86
RA (top/right)	03h52m31s.43
RA (bottom/right)	03h58m57s.55
RA (bottom/left)	04h09m25s.53

Dec (center)	+36°19′10″.9
Dec (top/left)	+38°12′01″.7
Dec (top/right)	+37°12′49″.5
Dec (bottom/right)	+34°26′13″.9
Dec (bottom/left)	+35°23′18″.7

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Menkib (ξ Persei) Meets the Nebula (NGC 1499)

Menkib (ξ Persei) Meets the Nebula (NGC 1499)

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Menkib (ξ Persei) Meets the Nebula (NGC 1499)

Menkib (ξ Persei) Meets the Nebula (NGC 1499)

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