NGC1931

Emission/Reflection Nebula in Auriga

Uploaded 1/6/02

Located amid the plethora of nebulosities in central Auriga is this tiny gem, a combination of Emission and Reflection nebulosities around the star cluster Stock 9. The combined magnitude is about 10.1, and a generous 6 arcmins in diameter, perfect for the CCD field. Visually, the very faint glow is symmetrical around the central cluster and this is what I centered for the shot. This deep exposure recorded the luminous comet like tail of nebulosity extending to the upper right, which I had never recorded on film.

This shot is a RRGB, and is dominated by the emission components reds. The core of the object has blues in it, and so does the small fan shaped object to the right. This explains the odd color of the core. Six ten minute exposures with the filter wheel standard Red filter were combined with six images with a Wratten 92, totaling 2h of red light luminance. The Wratten 92 did not do as well at recording the faint nebulosity as the more broadband but higher transmission Red filter. Seeing was poor and jumpy.

Instrument:  12.5" f/5 Home made Newtonian
Platform:  Astrophysics 1200 QMD
CCD Camera:  SBIG ST7E w/Enhanced Cooling
Exposure:  RRGB = 120:20:20:36 (RGB Binned 2x2)
Filters:  RGB Tricolor
Location:  Payson, Arizona
Elevation:  5150 ft.
Sky:  Seeing FMHW = 3 arcsec, Transparency 8/10
Outside Temperature:  15 C
CCD Temperature:  -25 C
Processing:  Maxim DL, Photoshop, AIP4WIN, PW Pro.

 

 

 
 


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