| Date: 2011/10/31 Observation place New Mexico |
Technical
| Telescope | Takahashi FSQ 106ED - Diam. 106 mm (4,2 ″), foca. 530 mm, f / 5 |
| Mount | Paramount ME |
| Imaging camera | SBIG STL 11000 regulated at -15o Celsius |
| Image type | Ha (RGB) |
| Exhibition | (10 x 10 'bin 1 × 1), RGB (4 x 3' bin 2 × 2 each) |
| Pretreatment | Maxim DL |
| Treatment | Photoshop and PixInsight |
Object description
| Object type | Emission nebula "The California Nebula" |
| Constellation | Perseus |
| Visual magnitude | 5 |
| Distance | 1500 light years |
| Diameter | 63 x 18 light years |
| Dimension seen from Earth | Approximately 145 x 40 arc minutes |
| The California Nebula is one of the largest nebulae in the northern sky. It is 1500 light years away. It is so named because of its resemblance to the state of California in long exposure photos like the one shown here. It is illuminated by the star Menkib (Xi Persei) visible to the naked eye at 1° south of the nebula. This star belongs to an association of young stars that probably originate from this interstellar cloud. The nebula is very difficult to observe with the naked eye. Due to its low surface brightness, it is also difficult to see in a telescope. On the other hand, it is a very beautiful nebula to photograph with a long exposure time. It presents very beautiful shades in red and pink tones. Here, the use of a Hydrogen-Alpha filter is ideal to bring out the nuances of the nebula in this light spectrum. |
| Richard Beauregard Sky Astro - CCD My impression "We cannot be alone in this gigantic universe" |