Home > Inspiration > Astro Photography
< A galactic snapshot
The Dark Seahorse >

The Iris Nebula (NGC7023/LBN 487)

9/23
ASI2600MM, 580mm f/5.8, 6.5h (RGB 3x1.2h, Luminance 2.9h)

The Iris Nebula in constellation Cepheus is a comparable bright reflection nebula surrounded by some dark nebulae. The catalog number NGC7023 refers to the bright open cluster which illuminates the real reflection nebula LBN 487.

To capture the dark nebulae around that target, a dark sky during new moon is mandatory. With a monochrome setup the Luminance should be captured separately to enhance rendition of fainter details. For more information on this topic, check out my page What to do with Luminance?

A while ago I imaged that object already with the same telescope and similar integration time (5.8 hours) but a color camera. With only a little edit I got this result: