Fluidr / astrothad's "Reflection Nebula" set

Maia and adjacent Pleiades, from Alder Springs, CA

N 14 B 1.6K C 1 E Sep 17, 2016 F Sep 17, 2016

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What happens when you mix a cluster of hot B7 spectral class stars and a good deal of interstellar dust? You scatter quite a bit of blue light, as is going on here in the Pleiades. In particular, the star closest to the center in this portion of M45 is Maia. To its south is Merope, which usually gets all the attention for its reflection nebula. However, with the field of view in my setup, I can get more nebulosity if I aim toward Maia instead.

This is a stack of 13 2 minute unguided exposures taken on 2016-09-04 from Alder Springs, CA. This was with a 9.25" Celestron Edge HD at f/2.3 with Hyperstar and an Atik 314L+ color CCD. Preprocessing in Nebulosity, and stacking and initial processing in PixInsight. Final processing in PS CS 5.1.

Tags: Pleiades star cluster reflection nebula interstellar dust space cosmos star astronomy astrophoto M45 open cluster

The California Nebula (NGC 1499) and Pleiades (M45)

N 13 B 1.3K C 1 E Oct 2, 2016 F Oct 2, 2016

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Shot from near Alder Springs, CA, on 2016-09-04 with a Nikon D80 piggybacked on a Celestron Edge HD on a CGEM mount. Stack of 7 5 minute exposures at ISO 1600 and f/4.5 with a 70-300mm lens at 70 mm focal length. Stacked and processed in PixInsight. Final touches in PI and PS CS 5.1.

Tags: California Nebula Pleiades star cluster emission nebula stars space cosmos astronomy astrophotograph deep sky Milky Way Perseus Taurus Alcyone Maia Merope reflection nebula

Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2), The Pleiades, and the California Nebula

N 5 B 1.3K C 1 E Jan 19, 2015 F Jan 19, 2015

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Single 305s exposure taken from Joshua Tree, CA, at midnight on 2015-01-18 with a Nikon D80 and 18.0-135.0mm lens at 28.0mm, ISO 1600, f/4.0 with camera noise reduction enabled. Initial processing in PixInsight; final processing in PS CS5.1 with Annie's Astro Actions.

Unfortunately, the comet was into the light pollution from LA to the west at this time. The tail is still visible, though, and the comet was visible to the naked eye.

Alnitak (ζ Ori), The Flame Nebula (NGC 2024), and the Horsehead Nebula (IC 434)

N 9 B 915 C 0 E Jan 7, 2016 F Jan 7, 2016

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My most recent version of this object is at flic.kr/p/21QW7Tv

Data from 2013-01-04; stack of 11 305s exposures taken with a Celestron Edge HD 9.25" at f/2.3 with HyperStar and Atik 314L+ color CCD. Preprocessing and stacking in Nebulosity; processing in PixInsight; final processing in PS CS 5.1

Tags: space cosmos Orion Flame Nebula Horsehead Nebula Alnitak Orion's Belt astrophoto astrophotography reflection nebula emission nebula

Dust near i Scorpii, shot 2014-06-27

N 6 B 1.2K C 1 E Jul 6, 2014 F Jul 6, 2014

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I am working on a fuller mosaic of this region. The current version is available at flic.kr/p/2gbsUqJ

Part of the rho Ophiuchi dust complex, i Sco is a B2.5V star just north of Antares. A reflection nebula surrounds the star, while the thicker dust of the complex is visible at the edges of the photo. This is a stack of 8 45s exposures shot from Mt. Pinos, CA, on 2014-06-27 with a Celestron Edge HD 9.25" scope at f/2.3 with Hyperstar and an Atik 314L+ color CCD; pre-processing and stacking in Nebulosity, initial processing in PixInsight, and final processing in PS CS 5.1.