NGC 6960: Western Veil Nebula

NGC 6979: Pickering's Wedge Nebula

Date: 27/10/08    Time: 2151hrs   Location: Sunningwell   Temperature: 5.7ºC  Relative Humidity: 75%

Camera: Nikon D80    Scope: William Optics Z66 Apo Doublet at prime focus   Mount: piggy-backed on Meade LX90 in equatorial mode  Filter: Astronomik CLS (LPF broadband filter)  Exposures: 600+(5x900) seconds  ISO: 1600   F ratio: 5.9   Guidance: Autoguided

A closer look at the Western Veil nebula with the central portion of the supernova remnant and Pickering's Wedge nebula (bottom left) than the photograph taken on the 22nd of October.  I was presented with another opportunity to take longer exposures of this nebula in Cygnus on the eve of this month's new moon.  There was a very light wind and smoke from a neighbour's chimney kept drifting right across the field of vision.  This picture consists of a cumulative 1 hour and 25 minute exposure so I was able to publish it in a larger size with slightly better resolution of the filamentous structure of the nebula's pressure wave (see text of previous page) than in the last photo.  If the stars to the top of the picture (to the western side of the picture) are scrutinised - you will see slight ghosting.  This is due to the differences in the frames which I stacked caused by the unflattened field of my Williams refractor and a re-positioning of the camera after swapping batteries between the 5th and 6th exposures.

After stacking, the sky colour was corrected with a digital subtraction of a uniform background frame consisting of the colour of the blurred picture original.  The usual white and black point setting was followed by midtone enhancement and finally, one pass of Noise Ninja to reduce the grainy texture a little.  The problem with star size and shape at the peripheries of the photo will persist unless I get a field flattener but this will mean increasing the weight and length of the tube and camera assembly piggy-backing on my LX90.  This may not be a good thing for tracking and auto-guidance.

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