Aug 26, 2014

NGC 7380 - Wizard Nebula - 7 Hour Exposure! - My longest ever!

Up until this point
NGC 7380 - The Wizard Nebula
NGC 7380 - The Wizard Nebula in Cepheus
More consecutive clear summer nights have allowed me to put in some serious time on the Wizard Nebula!  In fact, this is the most amount of exposure time I have put into any object!  Over 7 Hours! Truth be told, I would have hopped over to a new subject, but this attractive nebula is in the sweet spot of the sky right now.
Total Exposure Time =7 Hours, 15 Minutes (87 x 5 Minute Subs)

Mount: Skywatcher HEQ-5 Pro Synscan
Taken with Modded Canon Xsi through Explore Scientific ED80 Triplet Apo
Guided with PHD Guiding
Stacked in Deep Sky Stacker
Processed in Adobe Photoshop CC
NGC 7380 (also known as the Wizard Nebula) was discovered in 1787 by Caroline Herschel.  It is a open cluster located in the constellation of Cepheus.  The large nebula is extremely difficult to observe visually!
I have recently moved into an apartment, so I cannot image from home. To get my imaging fix I have to setup my scope in a friends backyard across town.  I leave it unattended all night long and cross my fingers everything worked out in the morning!  It's a bit nerve-racking thinking about my expensive equipment running all night with no supervision, but I have my procedure down-pat, and can count on good results now. 

I have been using my small refractor a lot lately becasue it is just so darn easy to transport and setup!  Not to mention that there is no need to collimate it like a Newtonian.  My Orion 8" Newtonian Reflector is in desperate need of collimation at the moment (Oval stars!).  Until I can use a friends laser collimating tools, I will continue to shoot wide-field shots with the ED80.

Orion has started popping up in the mornings now, a familiar sign that summer is coming to an end.  I am excited to shoot one of my favourite winter objects (M78) with the 8" Orion!



My Astrophotography Gear in the Backyard

No comments:

Post a Comment