The Wizard Nebula ... NGC 7380
August 9, 2020
(Click on Picture for larger view)
_Aug09_2020.jpg "The Wizard Nebula ... NGC 7380, in standard Hubble Pallet format ... Click on image for larger view")
The Wizard Nebula ... NGC 7380
This nebula is located 7200 light years away. Visually, the interplay of stars, gas, and dust has created a shape that appears to some like a fictional medieval sorcerer. In the sky, it located high in the NE after midnight in early August. It's impossible to see without a telescope.
This is my first image from the new ZWO ASI 1600mm monochrome camera. The red picture is an RGB type color format where I used the Hydrogen-Alpha filter for the Red channel, the Sulfur 2 filter for the Green and the Oxygen 3 filter for the Blue. The other picture, yellowish, I used the Sulfur 2 filter for the Red channel, H-alpha for the Green channel, and the Oxygen 3 filter for the Blue. This is known as the 'Hubble Pallet' of color combination. Each channel is 30 minutes. I also had to battle the clouds and poor seeing (This was the first night in well over a week that I was able to at least see the stars). The telescope was the Orion ED80T. The capture program was N.I.N.A.
Combining the black and white images into the RGB channels
 The Hydrogen-Alpha Filter image |
The Sulfur 2 Filter image |
 The Oxygen 3 Filter image |
That 'Techy' Stuf
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Telescope: Orion ED80T CF
Mount: Celestron CGEM
Mount setting and alignment via Celestron PWI software
Rig to Indoor Computer Connection: USB 2 196 feet Extender via cat 6 cable
Star Alignment: Celestron StarSense
Camera: ZWO ASI 160mm Pro TEC
Sensor Temperature: 0°C (32°F)
Filters: Ha, S2, O3
Capture software: N.I.N.A. v 1.10
Guiding: PHD2
Binning: 1x1
Focus Controller: Pegasus Cube Focuser
Polar Alignment: QHY Pole Master
Light Frames used: 10ea filter at 180 seconds / Gain: 139
Binning: 1x1
Dark Frames: 30
Flat Frames: 50
Stacked in Deep Sky Stacker
Post Processed in Photoshop CC
Seeing Conditions: 7 (0-10, where 0 is total cloud cover)
Moon: Moderate Lunar Interference
Bortle Light-Pollution zone: 4.5 (can barely see the Milkyway)
Air Temperature: 80°F (27°C)
Date: August 9, 2020
Location: My Backyard, Savannah, GA
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