IC1805: This is a large emission nebula, approximately 7500 light years from Earth, and about 200 light years across. It is known as the "Heart Nebula," because of its shape (if the field of this image were a little larger, the top of the heart would loop around just above where the top of this image cuts off). The bright part to the lower left of the image is NGC896 (the brighter half) and IC1795 (the dimmer half), a related emission nebula. This field of view is several times the diameter of the moon. It has been pointed out to me that toward the right of the image, just above center, is a tiny planetary nebula/supernova remnant, WeBo 1. This link will bring you to a cutout of the full resolution image of IC1805, showing this tiny nebula circled.

Technical Information:

(HaR)(HaR)GB: 330:390:330:270 (Luminance layer consists of a blending of thirteen 30-minute images through an Astrodon red filter and eleven 30-miniute images through an Astrodon Ha filter; red channel consisted of a similar, but not identical, blend of the same data; green and blue channels were both a combination of 30-minute images with Astrodon filters. All images unbinned).

Equipment: Astrophysics AP130 f/6 Starfire refractor with a field flattener, and an SBIG STL11000M camera with internal filter wheel (Astrodon filter set), on a Bisque Paramount ME German Equatorial Mount.

Image Acquisition/Camera Control: Maxim DL, controlled with ACP, working in concert with TheSky v6.

Processing: All images calibrated (darks and dawn flats) aligned and combined in CCDStack. Color combine in Photoshop. Finish work (curves and levels, adjustment of contrast; Gaussian blur of color layer) was done in Photoshop CS2.

Location: Data acquired remotely from the Tejas Observatory, located on the grounds of New Mexico Skies, near Mayhill, NM (elevation 7300 feet).

Date: Hydrogen alpha images taken during the first half of January 2009; RGB images taken during the nights of January 28, 29 and 30, 2009. Image posted June 25, 2009.

Pixel scale: 2.1 arcseconds per pixel.

CCD Chip temperature: -25C

Seeing: Generally good.

Transparency: Very good

Copyright 2009 Mark de Regt

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