LBN 534

LBN 534 is a molecular cloud stretching across more than 1.5 degrees of sky in the constellation Andromeda. It is about 1400 light years away and about 36 light years ( 211600000000000 miles ) long. The blue reflection nebula within LBN 534 is designated as vdB 158 and is lit by the bright star HD 222142.

 

There is also a planetary nebula PK110-12.1 located near the bottom center of the image. It was discovered by Luboš Kohoutek in 1963, the same astronomer that discovered Comet Kohoutek, which was visible to the naked eye in 1973. Planetary nebulae only last a few tens of thousands of years -- a mere blink in cosmic time -- before their material scatters into space. A "planetary" nebula is actually a shell of gas and dust that's ejected from a dying star. The name "planetary nebula" is a historical misclassification that comes from when astronomers first observed these objects. They thought they were looking at gas planets, and William Herschel named them after planets because they appeared round. PK110-12.1 appears dark green in this image. There are no green stars (another interesting topic), so see if you can locate it in the sea of dots.

 

Generally speaking, green colors in a nebula are due to forbidden transitions in ionized Oxygen. Forbidden transitions refer to transitions between energy levels that are not allowed by the selection rules of quantum mechanics under normal circumstances. However, they can still occur under certain conditions, such as in the presence of external fields or through higher-order processes.

 

Rio Rancho NM Bortle 5 zone, September 23-29, 2024

William Optics Redcat 51

ZWO 183mm pro

ZWO 30mm f/4 mini guide scope and ZWO 120 Mini

Optolong R G B filters

ZWO ASI Air Pro

Sky-Watcher HEQ5

Darks GraXpert dithering

Gain 111 at -10C

Processed in DSS GraXpert and PS

Done