Located about half a degree north west of the star Gamma Cassiopeia, is this splendid object, a richly colored combination of pink emission and blue reflection nebulosity. About 9 arcminutes in size, this fan shaped object glows with a peculiar source of illumination that has not been satisfactorily explained by astrophysicists. Its very feeble light is not often seen visually even with large amateur telescopes. Its bow - shock shape suggests a strong stellar wind from Gamma, with an in filling of blue dusty material.

Processing: Calibration, stacking, RGB combine - Maxim DL3, L and RGB registration - PWpro3, LRGB combine - Photoshop 7.

Instrument:  12.5" f/5 Home made Newtonian
Platform:  Astrophysics 1200 QMD
CCD Camera:  SBIG ST7E w/Enhanced Cooling
Exposure:  LRGB = 60:20:20:20 (RGB Binned 2x2)
RGB Combine Ratio:  1: .95: 1.8
Filters:  RGB Tricolor
Location:  Payson, Arizona
Elevation:  5150 ft.
Sky:  Seeing FMHW = 2.0 arcsec, Transparency 8/10
Outside Temperature:  5 C
CCD Temperature:  -35 C
Processing:  Maxim DL, Photoshop, AIP4WIN, PW Pro.

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