NGC1432/35 - The Merope Nebula

Reflection Nebula in Taurus

Uploaded 12/4/04

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 There simply is no more spectacular assemblage of hot blue stars, and dust anywhere in the sky. The Pleiades or Seven Sisters Cluster in Taurus is enveloped in a sky blue reflection nebula shaped by interstellar magnetic fields and the brightness of nearby stars in the cluster. Listed at magnitude 1.2, it is also the brightest star cluster in the sky and spans over 2 degrees in diameter.

This is my deepest shot yet of this object, the extreme blue sensitivity of the 10D far exceeded what I was able to accomplish with my cooled ST8i on the same telescope.

Processing: Raw conversion in Photoshop CS, Six five minute exposures were aligned and summed in Maxim DL and converted to a 16 bit image. Curves, color balance, and noise reduction in PixInsight full version.

Final Note: This field was challenging to color balance due to the fact that the ONLY neutral pieces of sky were small isolated dark patches inside the nebula. All four corners are rich with blue nebulosity, which extends over a large distance beyond the frames edges.

Instrument: 12.5" f/5 Home made Newtonian Platform: Astrophysics 1200 QMD Camera: Canon 10D at ASA1600 Exposure: 6 x 5m Filters: None Location: Payson, Arizona Elevation: 5150 ft. Sky: Seeing 8/10, Transparency 8/10 Outside Temperature: -5 C Processing Tools: Photoshop CS, Maxim DL, PixInsight HOME GALAXIES EMISSION NEBS REFLECTION NEBS COMETS GLOBULARS OPEN CLUST PLANETARIES LINKS
 

 
 


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