North America and Pelican Nebula

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About this Image

The North American Nebula NGC7000 (left) and the Pelican Nebula IC5070 (right) are 2 famous emission nebulae in central Cygnus. The distance to the North American Nebula is estimated at 1600 light years.

Ionizised bright Hydrogen gas and dark dust lanes are interfering in strange patterns. Special attention should be given to the brightest parts of both nebulae (the famous cygnus wall near the gulf of Mexico and the neck of the Pelican ). The light from young energetic stars is slowly transforming cold gas to hot gas, with the advancing boundary between the two known as an ionization front. Particularly dense and intricate filaments of cold gas are visible along the front. North is up.

Below a 100% closeup on the Cygnus wall and on the Pelican's elephant trunk.


Technical Details
Optics

105mm TMB refractor with flattener at f/6.5

Mount MK-100 GEM
Camera SBIG STL-11000M at -23C, internal filter wheel
Filters Astronomik H-alpha (15 nm)
Date 21 Apr 2004.
Location Wildon/Austria
Sky Conditions mag 5.5, high transparency, temperature 15-10 C, before dawn
Exposure Ha = 60 minutes (10-minute sub-exposures), all 1x1.
Processing Image calibration, aligning, weighted median stacking, DDP in ImagesPlus; Noise reduction by Neatimage; curves in Photoshop; size 19/30/50%;