Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Cepheus (Cep)  ·  Contains:  16 Cep  ·  The star 16Cep  ·  VdB149  ·  VdB150
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LDN 1235 (The Dark Shark), Michael Southam
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LDN 1235 (The Dark Shark)

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
LDN 1235 (The Dark Shark), Michael Southam
Powered byPixInsight

LDN 1235 (The Dark Shark)

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Description

I've been wanting to take a shot at The Dark Shark for about a year now and the Bortle 2 sky at Cherry Springs provides the perfect opportunity. I was in PA late last year so missed my shot. This year though, I managed to sneak in a Spring trip when The Shark is perfectly placed for late night imaging. I was nervous to devote precious imaging time on the trip to my first LDN object but the subject is worth the risk in my opinion. I was still worried that 2 hours of capturing could have resulted in no nebulosity at all and at first glance, the subs seemed to be heading down that road. The dark sky of North central PA didn't disappoint though and after stacking, the king of fish was clear to see. I was somewhat surprised I was able to catch not only the deepest parts of the nebula (head) but also caught some of the fainter tail section. I only wish I could have devoted more imaging time to a subject that clearly needs more than an hour and a half, even through Bortle 2. I suspect I will be back for more soon.

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