Caldwell 56 - Skull Nebula
The Skull Nebula (also listed as Caldwell 56 or NGC 246), is a relatively small, bright planetary nebula located about 1,600 light-years away in the constellation Cetus. Planetary nebulae are the result of a small to medium sized aging star that has evolved to a red giant, which has shed mass through a strong stellar wind. Once the star has lost all of the material from its atmosphere, the material is ionized by intense ultraviolet radiation from the star’s now-exposed core and causes the gas to glow as a bright planetary nebula.
October 4, 2024
Yet another planetary nebula that was once out of each for my widefield RedCat telescope, is now in reach with the 900mm newtonian. I’m coming to accept the fact that I will need some sort of solution for a windbreak for this telescope, as I tossed about 3 hours worth of subframes on this object due to what appears to be the wind. I’ve reviewed the information from my weather station and found that the bad subframes I’ve encountered in my last few imagine sessions tend to be during period where the breeze picks up (while I sleep of course, so I’m none-the-wiser until morning!) The telescope is rather large, and so even a light breeze above 5mph or so can impact the stability of the optical tube and ruin an exposure.
Technical Details
Imaging Telescope: Orion Optics IDEAL 8
Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI533MC Pro
Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro
Filter: Antlia Tri-band RGB Ultra Filter - 2” Mounted
Accessories: ZWO ASIAIR Plus, ZWO EAF
Software: PixInsight, Photoshop, NoiseXterminator, Starnet, BlurXterminator
Guiding Telescope: SVBony SV106 60mm Guide Scope
Guiding Camera: ZWO ASI174MM
Imaging Dates: Sep. 30/Oct. 1, 2024
Frames (gain 101.0) f/4.9 -10c: 145x180” (7h15m)
Integration Time: 7h15m
Darks/Flats/Dark Flats: 30/30/30
Bortle Dark-Sky Scale: 5.00