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Basic: Here is a very
rich field of both stars of the Milky Way and lots of red hydrogen
gas. Look closely at the very center of this shot and you will
see a tiny soap bubble in space. Inside is a cluster of hot blue
stars with a strong stellar wind which is blowing the bubble
into the surrounding hydrogen gas. It is called the "Bubble
Nebula" in Cassiopeia and is a remarkable reminder of the
amazing things occurring in our galaxy. To the upper left is
a very rich and bright star cluster known as M87, and the lower
right we see the pincers of the "lobster claw nebula"
sticking upward. This is a 4 hour exposure from Happy Jack.
More Technical:
One of the most interesting
and dynamic regions of nebulosity in Cassiopeia is the region
around NGC2024, the "Bubble Nebula". The entire field
is so full of red and pink hydrogen gas its hard to tell where
one nebula ends and another begins. You can see that NGC7635
is just the very center of a much larger nebula reaching all
the way to M52 on the upper left, and down to Sharpless 2-157
- AKA the Lobster claw nebula on the lower right. Note that the
"claws" of the lobster are not pure reds, but a more
white color. That is because they emit much more OIII and this
blue/green color mixes with the Halpha emission and renders it
a more neutral color.
Technical Data: 8"
f/2 RASA Astrograph, ASI2600mc + Baader UV + IDAS NBZ2
Integration time = 4h total, Happy Jack, Az.
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