The Astronomy Stuff:According to Wikipedia, the
Iris Nebula (
NGC 7023) is a
reflection nebula in the
constellationCepheus. The designation NGC 7023 actually refers to the
open cluster within the larger reflection nebula, which is designated LBN 487. The nebula is 1,300
light-years away and is six light-years across.
Astrophotography Stuff:This is perhaps my best image to date, as I was able to get a good bit of detail with only 5 hours of integration. Data acquisition is also relatively easy for this lovely target. As it is circumpolar, it does not tax the mount much - a good thing for folks that have the mass produced equipment such as I have, and it allows for a bit longer imaging session. You just need a decent dark site such as at the Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas' Atoka Dark Site. I intend to shoot this one again (and again) to build on the image shown here.
Processing this image is a moderate challenge, but with well constructed masks it turns out quite pleasing with Pixinsight.
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