Focal Pointe Observatory
Astrophotography by Bob Franke

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The Cone Nebula

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      Click the full screen zoom button           ^
     
Click the image to Zoom and Pan              

Click here to view the image without Zoomify (2192 x 1644, 1,077 KB)

 
 

Instrument

Takahashi FSQ-106ED @ f/5.0 (530 mm F.L.) Captured at 2.1 arcsec/pixel.  The Zoomify image scale is 3.15 to 7.24 arcsec / pixel.

Mount

Losmandy G11 with Gemini L4 v1.0

Camera

SBIG STF-8300M Self Guiding Package w/ mono ST-i, using Astrodon filters.

Acquisition Data

12/11/2012 to 2/5/2013 Chino Valley, AZ... with CCDAutoPilot5 & CCDSoft.  Off-axis guided.

Exposure

Ha

420 min. (28 x 15 min. bin 1x1)

Click here for the narrowband color-mapped image.

Click here for the LRGB image.

Software

  • CCDSoft, CCDStack, Photoshop CS6, PixInsight and Noel Carboni's actions.

  • CCDStack to calibrate, register, normalize, data reject, combine the sub exposures.

  • PixInsight for gradient removal and the initial non-linear stretching.

  • PhotoShop for final touch-up.

  • Noiseware Pro, a PhotoShop plug-in.

Comment

North is to the right

The Cone Nebula, located about 2700 light years away, was discovered by William Herschel on December 26, 1785. Features in the image include red emission from diffuse interstellar hydrogen and wispy filaments of dark dust. The dark Cone Nebula region clearly contains much dust which blocks light from the emission nebula and open cluster NGC 2264 behind it. One hypothesis holds that the Cone Nebula is formed by wind particles from an energetic source blowing past the Bok Globule at the head of the cone.
Source: NASA APOD.