More than astrophotography, an astronomical exploration.
The Bridge in the Soul
David Cruz · Astromidnight
In Cassiopeia, between the two great cavities of the Soul Nebula, a bridge of gas and dust withstands the wind from the most massive stars. New generations of stars are being born along its compressed edges.
| Catalogue | IC 1848 · Sh2-199 · LBN 667 · W5 |
| Type | Emission nebula and open cluster |
| Distance | ≈ 6,500 light-years |
| Field | 83.2′ × 54.6′ |
| Real width | ≈ 157 × 103 light-years |
| Scale | 0.81″ / pixel |
| Orientation | −8° · north up |
| RA (centre) | 02h 55m 55s |
| DEC (centre) | +60° 39′ 19″ |
| Constellation | Cassiopeia |
| Objects in field | IC 1848 · 3 SFO clouds · 2 LBN · 3 O stars |
Distance from NASA/JPL for the W5 region. The Gaia parallax of the IC 1848 cluster points farther, ≈ 7,800 light-years (Cantat-Gaudin et al. 2020); the real width assumes 6,500. The positions of the LBN nebulae come from the Lynds catalogue (1965), which is not very precise; the IC 1848 cluster is at the right edge of the frame.
14 h 40 min of light
Each tick is one exposure. 185 in total, with the camera at −10 °C and gain 100. Calibrated with 50 darks, 50 flats and 50 bias. The Moon stayed below 85 % illumination throughout.
Carbon Newton 10' f/4
ZWO ASI2600MC Pro
Sky-Watcher CQ350 Pro
Askar M54 OAG · ZWO ASI120MM Mini
TS-Optics NEWTON Coma Corrector 1.0x (TSGPU)
Player One Anti-Halo Pro Dual-Band Ha+OIII Filter 2"
Adobe Photoshop · Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight · Stefan Berg Nighttime Imaging 'N' Astronomy (N.I.N.A. / NINA)
São Pedro da Gafanhoeira, Évora · 358 m
Bortle 3