2022.10.07 – North America Nebula
Gear
- Telescope – Meade 70mm Series 6000 Refractor
- Main Camera – ZWO ASI294MC Pro
- Filter – Optolong L-eXtreme Dual-band Filter
- Mount – HEQ5
- Guide Scope – ZWO 30mm f/4 mini guide scope
- Guide Camera – ZWO ASI290MM
- Controller – ZWO ASIAir Plus
Acquisition
- 62 Light Images at 120 gain, 180s exposure
- 5 Dark Images
- 5 Bias Images
- 10 Flat Images
North America Nebula. NGC 7000. Caldwell 20. An emission nebula about 2600 light years away.
This is the third time imaging this target. My previous images were on:
From our backyard it has always been a pretty easy target to capture. It is a nice dense and massive nebula that flies well within our view. Our 2020.11.01 photo was around the first month of starting out astrophotography. We were (and still) learning how to image and post process. For an early attempt it’s a worthy victory. Those first successful images are pretty amazing feeling. Considering how far these targets lie from us. It’s what keeps us going. And the quality of our images have gotten better and better since.
This was the first time using the Optolong L-eXtreme Dual-band filter. We bought it last summer actually and never used it until now. It did an amazing job at bringing out North America. It did an exceptional job on the Texas/Mexico area. That west coast ridge is pretty awesome and well detailed. Just look at that ridge. The texture. The detail in the grooves and peaks. Just amazing stuff to capture from the backyard.
