Horsehead NGC 7635
The Bubble Nebula		 Horsehead

(These are very large files - Broadband recommended on anything over the 50% size)

(Click on image for 50% Resolution)

(Click here for 100% of full size - 1.6MB)

(Click here for my image taken with a Vixen 102mm Fl/ST-237A attempt on 09/09/2001)


Date: August 19-28, 2006
Exposure: Ha,OIII,SII 380m:480m:480m 19 x 1200s Ha, 24 x 1200s OIII & SII
Processing: CCDSoftV5 for image acquisition, CCDStack for Image calibration, Astrodon Narrowband filters (5 flats each Ha, OIII, SII, Bias subtracted and Sigma Clip combined, 40 bias frames Sigma Clip combined, 25 1200s darks Sigma Clip combined), alignment, normalization, FITS files creation. Photoshop CS2 for color mapping and jpg conversion. CCDAutoPilot3 used to collect data over multiple nights.
Conditions: Average, Mag 3-4 Skies
Scope: RCOS 16" Truss
Camera: SBIG STL-6303, -15°
Comments: This took 5 nights to get just barely enough data to make this come out. The Ha data had a good SNR, but the OIII and SII were noiser. I believe going to 30 or 45 min exposure times for the OIII and SII would make a big improvement in the S/N for these frames. I plan to test that theory when some clear skies return. I had to use water cooling on the camera for a few of those nights, and the "window heater" that SBIG added eliminated my dewing problem on the camera window completely. This is my first try at Mapped Color. I need to work on matching the star sizes a little better.