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IC 1318 - The Butterfly Nebula in
Cygnus
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Copyright 2010 Hap Griffin
IC 1318 is a large region of nebulosity in the central portion of the
constellation of Cygnus...near the bright star Gamma Cygni (otherwise known as
Sadr) shown at the far right. Due to the shape of this nebula, it is also
known informally as the Butterfly Nebula, with the dark dust lane LDN 889
forming the butterfly's body. The open star cluster at the upper right is
NGC 6910.
This image was captured through a narrowband filter admitting only a narrow
slice of spectrum around the wavelength of glowing hydrogen. Thus it is a
monochrome (single color) image displayed as shades of grey.
IC 1318 lies at a distance of 5000 light-years.
Date/Location:
July 2, 2010 Griffin/Hunter
Observatory Bethune, SC
Camera: QSI 583wsg
Filters: Astrodon E Series Generation 2 HA (5nm)
CCD Temperature: -10 C
Instrument: Takahashi FSQ-106N
Focal Ratio: f/5
Mount: AP-1200
Guiding: Auto via the QSI camera's built in Off-Axis Guider
mirror and an SBIG ST-402 Guider
Conditions: Clear but with a 3rd quarter moon nearby
Weather: 60 F, still
Exposure: 240 minutes total (12 x 20 min HA)
Capture: CCDAutopilot 4 w/ Maxim DL Camera Control, focused automatically w/
FocusMax
Processing: Frame calibrations, alignment and stacking with ImagesPlus v3.80.
Finishing in Photoshop CS4.