Image 1: Wizard Nebula, July 31, 2022, Lac Teeples
I have imaged the Wizard Nebula several times, but I've not been terribly satisfied with the results, until now. This image benefits from using observations of the Hydrogen-Alpha emission line (which is a deep red colour). The other colours come from a reanalysis of data collected a few months earlier.
The Wizard Nebula's proper name is NGC7380 and it was discovered long ago by Caroline Herschel (1787). It has an apparent size roughly the same as the Earth's moon (half a degree across). It is a star cluster with associated emission and reflection of light, within the Milky Way Galaxy at a distance of approximately 8 thousand light-years.
There are two giant O-type stars near the center of the cluster that are the primary ionizing sources for the emission and they are driving out the surrounding gas and dust while triggering star formation in the neighboring region.
The nebula is very difficult to observe visually - Caroline Herschel was one of the greatest - but it is very popular among amateur astrophotographers. I'm quite happy with the dark and mysterious aspects of this image, with improved details coming from some Hydrogen-Alpha emission line observations. I have a better understanding why this nebula is named the Wizard.
This image of the Wizard Nebula was captured on July 31, 2022 (H-Alpha) and September 30, 2021 (RGB) at Lac Teeples. The RASA-11 telescope was used with ZWO ASI6200M (H-Alpha filter) and ASI6200C cameras.
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