The North America Nebula ... NGC 7000
August 18, 2020
(Click on Picture for larger view)

The North America Nebula ... NGC 7000
This is my first image using the Red-Green-Blue filters on the monochrome ZWO ASI 1600mm camera. I captured 20 minutes in each of the colors then combined them in Photoshop resulting in a 1 hour exposure.

This is an emission nebula (which has a conspicuous resemblance to the North America Continent) in the constellation Cygnus the Swan and very near the bright star Deneb (Which is one of the 3 bright stars composing the 'Summer Triangle'). It is large, covering an area of more than four times the size of the full moon; but its surface brightness is low, so normally it cannot be seen with the unaided eye. It is about 1,600 light-years away.

Combining the black and white images into the RGB channels

The RED Filter image

The GREEN Filter image

The BLUE Filter image

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Click here to watch my video on how I captured and processed this color image.

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That 'Techy' Stuf
Telescope: Orion ED80T CF Triplet Apochromatic Refractor
Field Reducer: Orion 0.8x
Mount: Celestron CGEM
Mount Control Software: Celestron PWI
Camera: ZWO ASI 1600mm with the sensor Temperature setting at 14°F (-10°C)
Focus Controller: Pegasus Cube Focuser
Filter Wheel: 1.25" ZWO EFW
Filters: Astronomik Deep Sky set: RGB
Capture Software: N.I.N.A.
Settings: Binning 1x1 ... Fits files ... Gain: 139 Offset: 30
Light Frames: 4 each R-G-B at 300 seconds
Dark, Flat and Bias Frames: 20 ea
Guiding: Altair GPCAM2 & 60mm Guide Scope
Guiding: PHD2
Stacked in Deep Sky Stacker
Post Processing: Photoshop CC
Seeing conditions: 8 (based on 0-10 where 10 is crystal clear)
Outside Temperature: 80°F
Bortle Light-Pollution zone: 4.5 (can barely see the Milky Way)
Date: August 18, 2020
Location: Backyard, Savannah GA

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