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).