Eta Cygni Region / Tulip Nebula
Near the center, the bright red structure is SH2-101, an emission nebula called the Tulip Nebula. The bright star to its west is Eta Cygni, marking the middle of the celestial swan's neck as it flies across the summer sky. Since I started astrophotography I have come to think of Cygnus as the summer's Orion -- an easily recognized constellation (the Northern Cross to some) with remarkable nebular regions not so easily noted by urban observers, but ripe for "viewing" with an electronic assist. All of the red stuff in the image is ionized hydrogen glowing the distinctive H-alpha wavelength, which is enhanced here via a helpful light pollution filter. Moving northeast from the center we also pass NGC 6871 and NGC 6883, two open clusters which just barely stand out from the incredible starfield in this region. From my suburban yard it's hard to imagine how much stuff is hiding behind the light dome to be revealed by having my telescope track it all night.
Tech Stuff: Borg 55FL astrograph/ ZWO ASI 1600MC; IDAS LPS V4 filter; iOptron CubePro unguided 8 second exposures collected in 8 minute stacks, 3 hours total integration time. Processed in PixInsight. Imaged from my yard 10 miles north of New York City. SQM-L reading 19.04 in this Bortle 7/Red Zone. During the Covid lockdown many believe the skies are cleaner than normal but I am finding the weather to be the key determinant of sky quality, and in fact this excellent night (June 1st am) did not reach the 19.1 reading I have experienced under the best "normal" conditions in the past 2 years.
Eta Cygni Region / Tulip Nebula
Near the center, the bright red structure is SH2-101, an emission nebula called the Tulip Nebula. The bright star to its west is Eta Cygni, marking the middle of the celestial swan's neck as it flies across the summer sky. Since I started astrophotography I have come to think of Cygnus as the summer's Orion -- an easily recognized constellation (the Northern Cross to some) with remarkable nebular regions not so easily noted by urban observers, but ripe for "viewing" with an electronic assist. All of the red stuff in the image is ionized hydrogen glowing the distinctive H-alpha wavelength, which is enhanced here via a helpful light pollution filter. Moving northeast from the center we also pass NGC 6871 and NGC 6883, two open clusters which just barely stand out from the incredible starfield in this region. From my suburban yard it's hard to imagine how much stuff is hiding behind the light dome to be revealed by having my telescope track it all night.
Tech Stuff: Borg 55FL astrograph/ ZWO ASI 1600MC; IDAS LPS V4 filter; iOptron CubePro unguided 8 second exposures collected in 8 minute stacks, 3 hours total integration time. Processed in PixInsight. Imaged from my yard 10 miles north of New York City. SQM-L reading 19.04 in this Bortle 7/Red Zone. During the Covid lockdown many believe the skies are cleaner than normal but I am finding the weather to be the key determinant of sky quality, and in fact this excellent night (June 1st am) did not reach the 19.1 reading I have experienced under the best "normal" conditions in the past 2 years.