More than astrophotography, an astronomical exploration.
The Angel Nebula
David Cruz · Astromidnight
In Monoceros, the Angel Nebula reflects the blue light of young stars off the dust of the Monoceros R2 cloud. Below it, dark filaments stand out against a reddish glow.
| Catalogue | New General Catalogue · NGC 2170 · vdB 67 |
| Type | Reflection nebula |
| Distance | ≈ 2,700 light-years |
| Field | 78.9′ × 52.7′ |
| Real width | ≈ 62 × 41 light-years |
| Scale | 0.81″ / pixel |
| Orientation | −2° · north up |
| RA (centre) | 06h 09m 25s |
| DEC (centre) | −06° 22′ 13″ |
| Constellation | Monoceros |
| Objects in field | 7 reflection nebulae · Mon R2 cluster · LDN 1646 |
Classic distance of the Monoceros R2 association, 830 ± 50 pc (Herbst & Racine 1976), used by NASA (APOD). More recent studies give between 830 and 1,040 pc depending on the part of the cloud, so the distance and real width are approximate. Nebula positions taken from the AstroBin astrometric labels, approximate; that of the Mon R2 cluster comes from SIMBAD coordinates.
14 h 32 min of light
Each tick is a 240-second exposure. 218 in total, with the camera at −10 °C and gain 100. Calibrated with 30 darks, 30 flats and 30 bias. The Moon stayed below 20 % illumination throughout.
Carbon Newton 10' f/4
ZWO ASI2600MC Pro
Twinstar Friction Mount FG80
Askar M54 OAG · ZWO ASI120MM Mini
TS-Optics Maxfield .95X Coma Corrector
Adobe Photoshop · Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight · Stefan Berg Nighttime Imaging 'N' Astronomy (N.I.N.A. / NINA)
São Pedro da Gafanhoeira, Évora · 358 m
Bortle 3