skypointer2000
Of Roses and Horns
This image shows the Rosette Nebula (C49) setting behind a rocky peak in Arosa, Switzerland. The peak is aptly called "Hörnli", which means "Little Horn".
The Rosette Nebula Rosette Nebula, lies 5,200 light-years from Earth, in the constellation Monoceros (the Unicorn) and measures about 130 light-years across. It is an emission nebula, meaning that the gases that compose it glow as they are energized by radiation from local stars. The young stars in the nebula’s center are gravitationally bound to each other, forming an open cluster, born out of the material of the nebula.
Shooting this image required two tries. My initial calculations showed Rosetta Nebula setting right behind "Hörnli" and I therefore decided to shoot with my camera in portrait orientation.
As it was a setting target, I started with the sky subs and planned to shoot the foreground after the Rosetta Nebula had set. When it finally hit the horizon, I unfortunately found that it set to the left of the peak.
The problem was that I had marked the position of "Hörnli" slightly wrong in my planning app, which did not know the small peak. This threw my calculations off by 2°. The narrow field of view (3.84° x 5.07°) of the 200mm lens on the micro 4/3rd sensor of my astro-camera made me completely miss my ground target.
Of course I could have made a composite without anybody ever noticing, but for me, this would have taken all the fun out of the image...
After redoing my calculations, I found that the planned view with the Rosette Nebula setting over the peak was actually blocked and I therefore decided to reshoot the scene from my original spot in landscape orientation. Fortunately, the weather gods showed mercy and made the next night clear again.
EXIF
ZWO ASI 1600MM Pro
ZWO EFW with Baader LRGB, H-alpha & Oiii filters
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L @ 200mm
modified Skywatcher AZ-GTI mount
Sky:
3h42min total integration time
60 x 20s L
24 x 40s RGB
55 x 120s H-alpha
22 x 120s O
Foreground:
20min total integration time
20 x 20s L
20 x 40s RGB
Of Roses and Horns
This image shows the Rosette Nebula (C49) setting behind a rocky peak in Arosa, Switzerland. The peak is aptly called "Hörnli", which means "Little Horn".
The Rosette Nebula Rosette Nebula, lies 5,200 light-years from Earth, in the constellation Monoceros (the Unicorn) and measures about 130 light-years across. It is an emission nebula, meaning that the gases that compose it glow as they are energized by radiation from local stars. The young stars in the nebula’s center are gravitationally bound to each other, forming an open cluster, born out of the material of the nebula.
Shooting this image required two tries. My initial calculations showed Rosetta Nebula setting right behind "Hörnli" and I therefore decided to shoot with my camera in portrait orientation.
As it was a setting target, I started with the sky subs and planned to shoot the foreground after the Rosetta Nebula had set. When it finally hit the horizon, I unfortunately found that it set to the left of the peak.
The problem was that I had marked the position of "Hörnli" slightly wrong in my planning app, which did not know the small peak. This threw my calculations off by 2°. The narrow field of view (3.84° x 5.07°) of the 200mm lens on the micro 4/3rd sensor of my astro-camera made me completely miss my ground target.
Of course I could have made a composite without anybody ever noticing, but for me, this would have taken all the fun out of the image...
After redoing my calculations, I found that the planned view with the Rosette Nebula setting over the peak was actually blocked and I therefore decided to reshoot the scene from my original spot in landscape orientation. Fortunately, the weather gods showed mercy and made the next night clear again.
EXIF
ZWO ASI 1600MM Pro
ZWO EFW with Baader LRGB, H-alpha & Oiii filters
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L @ 200mm
modified Skywatcher AZ-GTI mount
Sky:
3h42min total integration time
60 x 20s L
24 x 40s RGB
55 x 120s H-alpha
22 x 120s O
Foreground:
20min total integration time
20 x 20s L
20 x 40s RGB