Saturday, February 24, 2024

NGC 7662 - Blue Snowball planetary nebula

Hi all,
Not yet on my website:
The last object I imaged with the new RC scope and AP mount was this (attached - one is center crop, other is uncropped). It was the same night as my previous two results (5 Sep) and this was was the last for the night. Bright, but tiny object (from here), and the moon really wreaked havoc on the contrast, as the moon was high in the sky and 65% illuminated, so only a hint of the outer areas for this object.
So, this was *still* my "first light" night with the RC and was to the west (Las Cruces light dome).
NGC 7662 - Blue Snowball planetary nebula from Las Cruces in LRGB. Distance: ~5730 LY This nebula was discovered October 6, 1784 by the German-born English astronomer William Herschel.
Setup: TPO RC 12" Truss-tube @f/8 (2432mm focal length) AP1100GTO mount QSI690wsg 19x5min L, 4x5min ea RGB (and then the sun rose)