Collecting  Photons

Half resolution: 2144x1831 Detail of the central area: 1600x1189

Objects:             Nebulous cluster IC348 (VdB 19), Barnard clouds B3, 4, 5.

Constellation:     Perseus

Coordinates of field center (J2000): 3h 42m 42; +32° 14'

Notes: a few years ago I spent one night under the very dark sky of Forca Canapine and I shot three hours of the foot of Persei, in chase of visible counterpart of the immense molecular cloud that occupies most of the constellation. I came back with a picture that was terribly limited by the tools of that time but that was showing tantalizing hints of colourful and abundant dust.  Indeed, the colours of the dust around here are hard to believe, shifting continuously from red, to purple, to bluish. This must reflect a very complex environment, and, it should also be added, that wide field Ha surveys, reveal a subtle HII emission in the area.

So, this was my first choice after we moved the ASA astrograph to the remote observatory. The acquisitions were run simultaneously with the ASA astrograph and with the TEC 140 mounted in parallel, and, although I used only the ASA data here, it was exhilarating being able to use the two instruments. I controlled the STL on the ASA from Pisa, while my friend and partner of the observatory, Davide Bardini was controlling the STL on the TEC from Mantua. We coordinated via skipe conference during the process and it was at the same time weird and great fun. This image would not exist without Davide's contribution.

Click and enjoy the large images.
 

Telescope and camera: ASA 10', f 3.6; SBIG STL 11000.

Exposure: Two parts mosaic L 20x10'; R 19x10'; G 15x8'; B 14x10'. L 28x10'; R 14x10'; G 15x8'; B 13x10'. About 22 hrs total.

Date: Seven nights on September 2011.

Software used: acquisition, CCDsoft, FocusMax, The Sky VI. Calibration; registration and stacking: CCDstack, Registar; processing: PixInsight 1.7, Photoshop CS3. 

Processing notes: long calibration and registration in preparation of the mosaic. Then I used a new tool provided in the latest release of Pix Insight, and, magic! the mosaic was done! Processing was pretty easy, thanks to the very high quality of the original data.

Copyright © 2011 by Gimmi Ratto. (October 17, 2011)