More than astrophotography, an astronomical exploration.
Yin Yang in Cepheus
David Cruz · Astromidnight
In Cepheus, two stars split the nebula Sh2-134: on the left, the blue of λ Cep, a runaway O star; on the right, the orange of ζ Cep, a supergiant. All around, red hydrogen and dark dust fill the whole field.
| Catalogue | Sharpless, 1959 · LBN 490 |
| Type | HII region |
| Distance | ≈ 5,300 light-years |
| Field | 136.0′ × 88.8′ |
| Real width | ≈ 210 × 140 light-years |
| Scale | 0.90″ / pixel |
| Orientation | −89° · west up |
| RA (centre) | 22h 11m 09s |
| DEC (centre) | +58° 46′ 34″ |
| Constellation | Cepheus |
| Objects in field | Sh2-134 · λ Cep · ζ Cep · 2 Barnard · 2 LBN |
Distance of Sh2-134 from Foster & Brunt (2015), 1.63 ± 0.33 kpc; the real width assumes that distance and applies only to the nebula (ζ Cep and λ Cep are closer). Star distances from Gaia parallax (SIMBAD). Sh2-134 is 160 arcminutes across in the Sharpless catalogue and covers almost the whole image: the marker is at the SIMBAD position. Positions of all objects taken from SIMBAD; those of the nebulae are approximate.
21 h 00 min of light
Each tick is one exposure. 270 in total, with the camera at −10 °C and gain 100. Calibrated with 50 darks, 50 flats and 50 bias. The Moon stayed below 45 % illumination throughout.
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