NGC 1333 - An Interstellar Dust Cloud

NGC 1333 is a cosmic dust cloud located 1000 light years away in the constellation Perseus. The blue patches are reflection nebula, produced by a stars light being scattered over the clouds. The glowing red and orange patches next to the reflection nebula are known as Herbig-Haro objects. These are formed by newly born stars in the cloud emiting narrow jets of gas travelling at hundreds of miles per second, which then collide with the host dust cloud. These are found in all star forming regions but last no more than a few thousand years. This dusty image is a small part of a much larger area known as the Perseus molecular cloud.

 

This is without doubt the hardest object i've ever processed, due mostly to the noise produced by my DSLR. I'm not too happy with the result but learned a few new processing techniques along the way. I will re-image the area again when i have a CCD.

 

Exposure Details:

113* 600 secs, ISO 800, f7

 

Total Exposure: 18.8 hours

 

Taken over 4 nights: 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd of November 2014

 

Scope: Altair Astro 115EDT

Camera: Canon 600Da

Mount: NEQ6

Done