Overview
An emission nebula that contains Bok globules, which are dark areas of gas and dust where stars form. The Pacman Nebula’s official name is NGC 281.
Background
This was an early image attempt with my new kit. I quite like the colour shades I brought out, but may return to reprocess some time. It could do with a longer integration time to help combat the noise too. Still, it’s an achievable target with an OSC camera from a city assuming you have a dual-band filter.
Imaging details
| Date | January – February 2021 |
| Location | Bristol, UK (Bortle 8) |
| Telescope | Askar FRA400 f/5.6 Quintuplet APO Astrograph |
| Camera | ZWO ASI 2600MC-PRO |
| Mount | Orion Sirius EQ-G |
| Guide | William Optics 32mm; ZWO ASI 120MM Mini |
| Control | ASIAIR PRO |
| Software | PixInsight, Lightroom |
| Filters | Optolong L-eXtreme (Ha/OIII): 90 x 300 seconds |
| Total exposure time | 7 hours 30 minutes |
| Image credit | Lee Pullen |
Source data
Seestar S50
Seestar S50 image of the Pacman Nebula, taken from my city centre location:
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