Pictured here is part of the diffuse emission Nebula Gamma Cygni, otherwise known as The Butterfly Nebula. Nearby, a dark nebula is visible, which is a region of dust and non-gaseous debris so dense that it blocks the light from behind it from our view. Surrounding this dark nebula are regions of emission nebula, which are gasses ionized by the radiation from nearby stars. The electrons in the individual atoms of hydrogen, oxygen, and other elements become excited by the radiation of nearby stars and achieve higher states of energy. When these electrons eventually drop back to their preferred energy states, they do so by releasing the excess energy in the form of a photon of light with a wavelength that corresponds to both the elements and the energies for their ionization. Rich in this nebula is Hydrogen-alpha (Ha) the signature wavelength of interstellar hydrogen gas being ionized by young, hot stars.
Captured from my backyard observatory in Fremont, Michigan May 29 2014 using a QHY11 Monochrome CCD/Takahashi E-180
Total Exposure time 3.6 hours
Image details
Location: DownUnder Observatory, Fremont MI
Date of Shoot: June 1 2014
H-Alpha 120 min 12 x 10 min bin 1x1
RGB 24 min 6 x 4 min ea, bin 1x1
Luminance 24 min 6 x 4 min, bin 1x1
Equipment
QHY11S monochrome CCD cooled to -20C
Takahashi E-180 F2.8 Astrograph
Paramount GT-1100S German Equatorial Mount
Image Acquisition Maxim DL
Stacking and Calibrating: CCDStack
Registration of images in Registar
Post Processing Photoshop CS5
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