More than astrophotography, an astronomical exploration.
The Lynds Dark Nebula, LDN 984, in Cygnus!
David Cruz · Astromidnight
In Cygnus, near Deneb, clouds of cold dust blot out the stars of the Milky Way. Among them, young stars light up the dust around them in blue.
| Catalogue | Lynds Dark Nebulae, 1962 |
| Type | Dark and reflection nebulae |
| Distance | ≈ 2,000 light-years (region) |
| Field | 80.5′ × 53.0′ |
| Real width | ≈ 47 × 31 light-years |
| Scale | 0.62″ / pixel |
| Orientation | 178° · south up |
| RA (centre) | 21h 01m 33s |
| DEC (centre) | +50° 18′ 46″ |
| Constellation | Cygnus |
| Objects in field | 6 LDN · 4 LBN · V1331 Cyg |
Distance estimated for the LDN 988 cloud complex (APOD, 2014). The real width assumes that distance. Positions of the objects taken from the AstroBin astrometric solution; those of the nebulae are approximate.
17 h 56 min of light
Each line is a 240-second exposure. 269 in total, with the camera at −10 °C and gain 100, calibrated with 30 darks, 30 flats and 30 bias frames. The Moon was always below 25 % illumination.
Carbon Newton 10″ f/4 · 250 mm · 1000 mm
TS-Optics Maxfield 0.95×
ZWO ASI2600MC Pro · APS-C colour
Twinstar FG80 · friction drive
Askar M54 OAG · ZWO ASI120MM Mini
N.I.N.A. · PixInsight · Photoshop
São Pedro da Gafanhoeira, Évora · 358 m
Bortle 3