The Heart Nebula Project

19:51 24/8/2009 UTC

I started my next project with H-alpha. This time my target is a nice nebula IC1805 commonly known as The Heart Nebula. My guiding works pretty fine now and I decided to try 15min subs. Works well for me, but I don't reach sky limit even with this long exposures. I might have to use 20min subs with H-alpha to get most out of the images. Also cooling even lower as the weather permits will be on my list. My flat box's battery went dead and I had a pretty lousy flat field in this image.

NGC/IC Object List:
NGC896 gaseous nebula RA:02h25m27.8 Dec:+62°01m'10" BMag: , SG 1.04
IC1805 open cluster RA:02h32m41.4 Dec:+61°27m'25" BMag: , OCL 352

Camera: Atik Instruments 4000LE | Telescope: Skywatcher ED80 Pro 80mm f7.5 refractor, William Optics 0.8x focal reducer | Mount: Vixen GP-D2, Boxdoerfer PowerFlex MTS-3SLP drive controller | Filters: Baader H-alpha 7nm 2" | Guiding: The Imaging Source DMK 21AU04.AS CCD camera, Orion ShortTube 80mm f5 refractor, Stark-Labs PHD Guiding | Exposure: Ha 13x900s (3h15m) unbinned, dithered, CCD @ -20° f6 | Software: CCDWare CCDStack, Adobe Photoshop CS4, Stark-Labs Nebulosity 2 | Location: 60°31'N 26°52'E (Koivula/Kotka,FI) | Background sky brightness (SQM): 20.11 mag/arcsec² | Image Field: 1.81 x 1.812 degrees | Image Center: Ra 02h32m54s Dec +61°35'23" | Target altitude in the beginning of the exposure 47°