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 There are two nebulas in
            the sky with the word "Clown" in the name, can you
            guess the other object? (Ill tell you at the very bottom of this
            page). This wondrous object challenges astrophotographers because
            of its extreme faintness, and exciting detail. Located on the
            opposite side of Deneb from the North American Nebula, it lies
            in a very dense star field in the Cygnus Milkyway. With a total
            extent approaching half a degree in size, this extended object
            contains a rich assortment of dark lanes, bright wreaths, and
            is surrounded by a very dim blue glow from reflection nebulosity
            seen best on the lower left frame. I was not surprised to see
            the faint arcs and extensions from such an object but the blue
            areas were a nice touch.

            
Processing Notes:

            
This image is
            a 50 percent mix of hydrogen alpha filtered images and red light
            images for the luminance. Similarly, the red channel in the RGB
            is a mix as well, with two combines - one 80 percent mix of Ha
            data, and then remixed with the original red data using lighten
            to keep all the bright stars the correct colors. Photoshop was
            then used to rotate the entire hue spectrum of the image about
            two degrees to exactly match the pinkish red hue of the original
            G2V calibrated RGB image. (More on this new technique later).

Instrument:  12.5" f/5 Home made Newtonian
Platform:  Astrophysics 1200 QMD
CCD Camera:  SBIG 10XME NABG with Enhanced Cooling
Guider: SBIG ST4
Exposure:  L+Ha(R+HaGB) = 120:80:20:20 (RGB Binned 2x2)
RGB Combine Ratio:  1: 1.05: 1.11
Filters:  AstroDon RGB Tricolor
Location:  Payson, Arizona
Elevation:  5150 ft.
Sky:  Seeing FWHM = 9.5 arcsec (Maxim DL - 10min subframe), Transparency 8/10
Outside Temperature:  45 F
CCD Temperature:  -30 C
Processing Tools:  Maxim DL,  Photoshop, PixInsight
HOME   GALAXIES     EMISSION NEBS     REFLECTION NEBS   COMETS  
   GLOBULARS     OPEN CLUST     PLANETARIES     LINKS

FastCounter by bCentral

The "other" celestial clown is NGC2392, known better as the "Eskimo Nebula" is also known as the "Clown nebula"