Iris Nebula Widefield from Grand Mesa Observatory

Iris Nebula Widefield from Grand Mesa Observatory

The Iris Nebula (NGC 7023) is front and center of this widefield image of this quite dusty area of the constellation Cepheus taken at Grand Mesa Observatory over the nights of 9/24-9/25 2022.

The Iris Nebula (NGC 7023) which shines blue in the center of this image is a reflection nebula, meaning that the bluish light you see in the image is reflected light off of the gas and dust clouds in the nebula. One other notable reflection nebula found in this image is the Ghost Nebula (Sh2-136) which is on the far left center of this image. There's also a ton of dusty nebula around this scene, I'm not sure their exact designations, but they all have unique and interesting shapes.

Also, some very exciting news at Grand Mesa Observatory!! After a pause in operations so that our Director, Terry Hancock could rest and recover from some health issues, we are pleased to announce that we are back to normal operations! Terry feels much better now, and we are all so happy for the support from the many friends of the observatory, thank you! Subscription services will start back up this week December 1st. If you are interested in signing up for data subscriptions check out this link: https://grandmesaobservatory.com/equipment-rentals

Iris Nebula Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iris_Nebula

Ghost Nebula Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Nebula

Captured by Terry Hancock, at Grand Mesa Observatory, Processed by Tom Masterson

Capture dates 9/24, 9/25 2022

Integration

Luminance

47 x 120 second exposures

Red

56 x 120 second exposures

Green

54 x 120 second exposures

Blue

53 x 120 second exposures

Total integration time: 7 hours

Location: GrandMesaObservatory.com Purdy Mesa, Colorado http://www.grandmesaobservatory.com

Grand Mesa Observatory System 1:

Camera: QHY600 Mono

Filters: Chroma RGB

Optics: Takahashi FSQ130

Image Acquisition software Maxim DL6

Pre-Processed in Pixinsight

Post Processed in Photoshop, Pixinsight, Registar, Starnet, StarXTerminator (for PShotoshop).