The Fossil Footprint Nebula

NGC 1491 (also known as the Fossil Footprint Nebula) is an emission nebula located about 9,800 light years away from Earth in the constellation of Perseus. The nebula gets its deep red coloration from massive stars embedded within NGC 1491 producing large amounts of ultraviolet radiation and ionizing the hydrogen gas that makes up the nebula.

November 26, 2024

Completely reprocessed this in PixInsight to adjust the color balance and bring out more of the OIII data.

Technical Details

Imaging Telescope: Orion Optics UK Ideal 8

Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI533MC Pro

Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro

Filter: Antlia ALP-T Dual Band 5nm 2”

Accessories: ZWO ASIAIR Plus, ZWO EAF, ZWO Filter Drawer (Gen 2)

Software: PixInsight, Starnet, BlurXterminator, NoiseXterminator

Guiding Telescope: SVBony SV106 60mm Guide Scope

Guiding Camera: ZWO ASI174MM

Imaging Dates: November 10, 12, 15, 2024

Frames (gain 101.0) f/4.9 -10c: 260x180” (13h)

Integration Time: 13h

Darks/Flats/Dark Flats: 30/30/30

Bortle Dark-Sky Scale: 6.00

November 17, 2024

The Fossil Footprint Nebula is a new target for me. After several nights (and more time than I care to admit trying to dial in collimation on the telescope), I finally gathered enough data to make this worth processing. Processing this one was interesting, as there was much less OIII signal than my prior two targets (Wizard and Pacman) and so finding the right color palette was a little bit challenging. However, after lots of little tweaks and referencing other images on Astrobin, I think I found a palette that works for my taste. I may have pushed the OIII a little much, but I think it works. Perhaps I’ll revisit this one on a snowy day this winter. Lots of masking was required to try to account for both the bright core of the nebula, as well as the fainter outer regions. Nonetheless, I think I ended up with a serviceable result!