Observation by Karen Smith: NGC 281 - The Pacman Nebula

Uploaded by

Karen Smith

Observer

Karen Smith

Observed

2026 Oct 16 - 21:11

Uploaded

2026 Oct 24 - 17:39

Equipment

Meade 8" LX90 SCT telescope

Exposure

224 x 4 minute exposures

Location

My back garden in the West Midlands, UK

Target name

NGC 281 The Pacman Nebula

Title

NGC 281 - The Pacman Nebula

About this image

Due to home renovations, I haven't been able to use my telescopes for several weeks. In early October, I finally deemed it safe to set them up again, and the clouds luckily cleared on October 7th. I targeted a bright nebula so I'd have something to process after just one night, just in case the weather turned. Fortunately, it cleared up again on October 16th, allowing me to double my integration time. For once, everything worked perfectly—even after the meridian flips! In total, I captured two full nights of data: 240 x 4-minute exposures, discarding only 16 subs due to slightly elongated stars. Everything was stacked and processed in PixInsight. Fingers crossed for more clear skies soon!

Files associated with this observation

NGC281-Packman-web2.jpg (6.8 MB)

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Neil Morrison

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