Clic here for 50% size 1956x1322 (681 kB)
The Cave Nebula is an extended H-alpha area situated the constellation Cepheus at a distance of 2,400 light years. It is surrounded by very dim structures shaped by the pressure of the surrounding stars. The brightest star in the center is mag 6.5 SAO 20328.
16" Cassegrain in corrected prime focus at f/3
About this Image
North is right.
A closeup on the Cave in 42/70% size is shown below.
Technical Details
Optics
Mount
MK-100 GEM
Camera
SBIG STL-11000M at -15C, 1x1 bin, internal filter wheel
Filters
Astronomik Ha,
Date
Sep 02 2005.
Location
Wildon/Austria
Sky Conditions
mag 4.5 sky, low transparency, temperature 22 C
Exposure
Ha = 150 minutes (30-minute sub-exposures),
Processing
Image aquisition, calibration, aligning, stacking in Maxim DL 4.11;
Photoshop: levels and curves, light unsharp mask; little noise reduction by Neatimage;