Russell Croman Astrophotography  

 

 

The Rosette Nebula


About This Photograph

The fantastic Rosette Nebula lies at a distance of about 4,900 light-years from Earth, to the left of the torso of Orion the Hunter. Like other emission nebulae, it is a cloud of gas and dust stimulated to emit its own varied hues by the intense ultraviolet radiation coming from the cluster of hot, young stars at its center. Although this nebula can be a challenging object to observe visually, long-exposure photographs such as this one bring out the full extent and beauty of this vast celestial wreath, caught in a blizzard of literally tens of thousands of stars.

 

Technical Details

Optics:TeleVue NP-101.
Camera:STL-11000M.
Mount:Astro-Physics AP1200GTO.
Filters:SBIG research RGB, Custom Scientific 5nm H-alpha.
Dates/Times:26 January, 6 February 2004.
Location:my backyard observatory in Austin, Texas.
Exposure Details:RGB: 90:60:90 minutes.H-alpha: 4.33 hours.
Processing:The H-alpha data was used to enhance the luminance and red channels.

 

Publication Data for this Photograph

Date Publication Type
2005-03-00 Sky & Telescope,
p. 82
Magazine