Astrophotography - The Iris Nebula
As the first astrophoto on this blog I present you my most recent capture, taken in the middle of November 2022. This is the Iris Nebula (also known as NGC 7023), 1,300 light-years away in the constellation of Cepheus and six light-years across. The Iris Nebula is a bright reflection nebula, the interstellar gas and larger particles are illuminated by a bright young star in the middle of the nebulosity. The bright nebula is surrounded by darks nebulae, clouds of materia where the star's shine does not reach. The annotated image shows that also three faraway galaxies also made it to the image, known only by their number in the PGC catalogue.
Acquisition details
Total exposure time: 3 hours 50 minutes. Focal length: ~440mm.
- Telescope: Vixen ED114SS with 0.67x reducer-flattenner.
- Camera: QHY168C
- Filter: Optolong UV/IR cut.
- Mount: iOptron GEM28
- Focus and Dew Heater Controller: Astrolink 4 Mini S
Acquired using KStars on a Raspberry Pi running https://astroberry.io/. Processed in PixInsight.
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