Observation by Peter Goodhew: NGC 7009 - The "Saturn" Nebula

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Observer

Peter Goodhew

Observed

2019 Aug 11 - 16:03

Uploaded

2019 Aug 18 - 21:58

Objects

The Saturn Nebula (NGC7009)

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Constellation

Aquarius

Field centre

RA: 21h04m
Dec: -11°22'
Position angle: +179°41'

Field size

0°22' × 0°16'

Equipment
  • APM TMB 152 LZOS refractors
  • QSI6120wsg8 cameras
  • 10Micron GM2000 HPS mount
Exposure

57 hours total integration. HaOIILRGB filters. Exposures varying from 30s bin1 to 1800s bin2

Location

Fregenal de la Sierra, Spain

Target name

NGC 7009

Title

NGC 7009 - The "Saturn" Nebula

About this image

I've imaged the Saturn nebula, and was delighted to be able to see, not just the ring structure, but also the FLIERS.  In this super image, Peter has taken things to a new level by picking up a fainter, outer shell visible in O3.  In Peter's own words:

"Before starting an imaging run I now do some test images with different filters, exposures, and binning to see which combinations work best. When I examined the OIII 1800s bin 2x2 test image I was surprised to see an asymmetric outer shell with intricate structures, and so factored this into my image capture plan.  This is the result. There is also a very faint diffuse OIII shell that is even further out from the core. 
I found processing this to be a real challenge, with 7 filters, and exposures varying from 30 sec bin 1x1 to 1800s bin 2x2. Integrating images with such extreme dynamic range was also a challenge. I was concerned by some lighter parts of the sky background, but after checking with other images available online it became clear that this was integrated flux nebula."

Super job and a worthy PotW.

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