Pelican Nebula (IC5070) 7-13-24

Pelican Nebula 7-13-2024

This was my first real attempt at imaging a deep space object. Overall I consider this a success. While there were quite a few issues, I was able to set up tracking on a DSO and image it well enough to clearly see interstellar hydrogen.

Technical details:

  • Lens: SkyWatcher 120
  • Camera: Nikon D3200
  • Mount: SkyAdventurer 2i
  • Filters: SVBONY CLS
  • Exposure: 23x30s at ISO6400
  • Corrections: 19 darks, 16 bias, 6 flats
  • Stacking: DeepSkyStacker
  • Post-processing: PhotoScape X
  • Bortle: 7

Notes for improvement:

  • More total exposure time needed
  • Corrector/reducer needed to collect useful data from edges of frame
  • Develop better post-processing techniques

Pages that lead here:

Use the constellation graph to navigate pages based on their links to one another: