Russell Croman Astrophotography  

 

 

Deep NGC 281 in Elemental Colors


About This Photograph

Also known as SH2-184 and the Pacman Nebula, this patch of glowing gas and silhouetted dark lanes of gas and dust is an active star-forming region. Appearing in the constellation of Cassiopeia, it is about 9,500 light years from Earth.

This photograph combines a total of 93 hours of exposures taken in 2005, 2021, and 2022 through two different telescopes. Special filters were used to isolate light emitted by ionized sulfur, hydrogen, and oxygen. These signals are mapped to red, yellow, and blue, respectively.

 

Related Photographs

Nebula NGC 281
in Elemental Colors
 

Technical Details

Optics:Takahashi FSQ-106 EDX4
20" f/8 RCOS Ritchey-Chretien Cassegrain w/ RCOS Field Corrector
Camera:QHY600M
SBIG STL-11000XM
Mount:Software Bisque Paramount MX+ & ME
Filters:Chroma 3nm [S II], H⍺, [O III]
Custom Scientific 5nm [SII], H⍺, [OIII]
Dates/Times:1 Nov 2021 - 7 Jan 2022
12 Sep - 11 Oct 2005
Location:Mayhill, New Mexico
Exposure Details:[SII]:H⍺:[OIII] = 21.5:21.5:20 hours
[SII]:H⍺:[OIII] = 5:21:4 hours
93 hours total
Acquisition:MaxImDL, ACP Expert
Processing:PixInsight, Photoshop