IC5070 - The Pelican Nebula

Following the end of Summer shakedown in the observatory, we had another clear night forecast followed by what looked like a week of cloudy or rainy evenings so it was game on and time to make use of the weather window.  I wouldn't have enough time to get the full 3 or 4 hours of data which I would usually try to get for an image, but I got as much as I could time considering.

Cygnus is placed nicely overhead this time of year, and with the exception of having to do a meridian flip, it's an excellent chance to image one of the treasure trove of targets that are found within the boundaries of the constellation.  I had never considered IC5070 as a possible target before, partly because the more popular targets of the components of the Veil Nebula tend to be the more popular options.  As good as it is to go back and image previous targets, who doesn't like imaging something new and different?

I'm starting on the next part of my journey with this Altair 26c Hypercam but already, I'm excited with what it can do.  This image is made up of 73 x 98 second images, giving a total of 2 hours stacked exposure time, plus flats and darks.  I've also used the Altair Quadband filter.  I've read a few things about introducing bias frames and changing filters for different types of targets which I am going to investigate further to try and really make the most of this extremely capable camera.

IC5070 - The Pelican nebula

Stacked and processed in Pixinsight and tweaked slightly in GIMP, there's a little bit more to learn in PI to try and reduce the star halos of the larger stars.  But I love the nebulosity of not only the target nebula itself, but also the surrounding nebulosity around the rest of the frame.

I'm looking forward to the coming season and as usual will be spending as much time as possible under a clear sky.  Coming soon, there is also one of the highlights of my astronomy year.  Astrocamp!  Will I see you there?  Thanks for reading!