Cygnus Mosaic

While this project of the Sadr region only has 2 of the 3 filters I’d like to collect I think I’m going to call it done for now. The constant back and forth with the rain has made me want to switch to a new target to get more time in since the weather seems to not want to hold lately. 

 

Here is a 4 panel panoramic from Sadr (Gamma Cygni Nebula) to the Crescent Nebula (NGC6888) in the constellation Cygnus, the Sawn. This area is right at the heart of Cygnus around a start called Sadr (cropped out). The overall region of space is absolutely packed with rich interstellar hydrogen gas. The Crescent Nebula is an interesting object in that it is the result of a Wolf-Rayet star (WR 136) which is a type of variable star that has released enough solar wind to interact with the surrounding gases which creates the wave-like shapes you see.

Below the panoramic I’ve also included the Ha view for detail.

 

This bi-color image was made by mapping the Hydrogen alpha and Oxygen 3 filters to produce an RGB image. There are some minor visual issues I was dealing with the stitching of the panels together on the left and getting them to blend well. One hardware issue I think I have is there is too much backlash in my mount causing eccentricity in the smaller stars. My hope is to return to this in the fall of 2022 to finish the final filter.

 

Total integration time: 45.35hrs

Technical

Explore Scientific 127 FCD100 APO telescope

Explore Scientific .7x Focal Reducer/Field Flattener

MoonLite focuser

SkyWatcher EQ6-R Pro mount

ZWO ASI1600 MM Pro camera

Chroma Ha, Oiii filters