The North America Nebula or NGC 7000 (Caldwell 20 also) is a very large emission nebula based in the constellation Cygnus. NGC 7000 covers more than ten times the full moon area with a rough distance of 1500-3000Ly away, with some Astronomers accepting 2000Ly. It was later tested with the Gaia astrometry spacecraft which measured nearly 400 stars in the HII region placing the distance at 2590 Ly.
William Herschel observed a "faint milky nebulosity spread throughout this area, in some parts very bright" on October 24, 1786, from Slough, England. On August 21, 1829, his son John Herschel catalogued the most notable region. NGC 7000 was assigned to it, and it is described as a "faint, most extraordinarily big, diffuse nebulosity" in the New General Catalogue. The region contains multiple NGC objects NGC 6997 and NGC 6996 being two of them. The North America Nebula shares the interstellar cloud with the Pelican Nebula (IC5070) which is separated by a dark band of dust. Stewart Sharpless catalogued these together labelling them as Sh2-117, but to photo this whole region requires a wide field lens or a very large mosaic style photo (Definitely on my to-do list when darker, longer nights return!) This region contains Both HII and OII gas (also contains a small amount of SII but HII being the dominant gas, it is near enough indistinguishable between them both) with the Hydrogen gas being Ionised by ultraviolet radiation from nearby hot stars catalogued J205551.3+435225 which has an apparent magnitude of 13.2 due to being covered by the dark dust. If this star was visible without the restrictions of the dust clouds, it would be at a magnitude of 3.6~. |
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This picture was taken with near enough a full moon (94.1%) but with the moon being in the South, it never really affected the night astrophotography. The usual 10-minute long (600 sec) exposures were taken on this target (Which is normally what I do with my 72ed/ 533mc pro setup) and somehow got 4 hours of total exposure in one night! With summer nights and being in the month of the summer solstice (the longest day of the year), the timing was everything. I managed to get out at dusk and set up ready and started shooting just as the stars appeared and continued till the sun started to bleach the sky out (about 3 am).
This was all taken at my regular bortal 4 location in Hampshire with clear skies all night (even though the weather apps said otherwise) Soon as the winter period comes, I think a large-scale mosaic picture will be completed on this target. Nothing less than a 3x4 panel covering both NGC 7000 and IC5070. |
Equipment and software used
Scope - Skywatcher 72ed Mount - Skywatcher eq5 goto Guide scope – ZWO 30mm Guide Camera – ZWO Asi 120mm mini Control box – ZWO ASIAIR Pro Filter – Optolong L-eXtreme 1.25mm Filter drawer next to the camera sensor Fox Halo 96k power bank Dew heaters with their own power banks on both guide scope and camera All the data was stacked with DeepSkyStacker and Processed in Pixinsight. (Other software is available which is free and will is linked in the equipment used/ equipment tab) |
An updated image of the NGC7000 was taken with the RASA 8 using shorter exposures and for less overall total exposure. The difference in picture and overall colour is clearly seen. Post processing didn't need much work and the blue was more easily brought out with the RASA 8 than the 72ed, this also includes details around the Hydrogen (Ha) and Oxygen (OIII). The dark structure also stands out more with the RASA 8.
The equipment used on the night.
The standout is the star bloat, which will be sorted when the Optolong L-pro arrives. Then the stars will be taken with the L-pro and the stars swapped allowing for slightly longer exposure times for the nebula.
- Scope – Celestron RASA 8
- Mount - Skywatcher EQ6 R Pro
- Guide scope – ZWO 30mm
- Guide Camera – ZWO ASI 120mm mini
- Main Camera – ZWO Asi 533mc Pro
- Control box – ZWO ASIAIR Pro
- Filter – IDAS NBZ Nebula Booster
- Starizona Filter drawer next to the camera sensor
- Fox Halo 96k power bank
The standout is the star bloat, which will be sorted when the Optolong L-pro arrives. Then the stars will be taken with the L-pro and the stars swapped allowing for slightly longer exposure times for the nebula.
A new picture was taken with the RASA 8 and 533mc. This is a 2-panel Mosaic of both NGC 7000 and IC 5070 which is given the name SH2-117. This could have been a 4-panel but time was against the night (Spring time - April Galaxy season) So for now, this will do until the nights get longer again.
The dark structure between the pelican and North America Nebula can be seen interconnecting between both nebulas as well as Nebulosity connecting between both nebula structures.
The dark structure between the pelican and North America Nebula can be seen interconnecting between both nebulas as well as Nebulosity connecting between both nebula structures.