Michael A. Stecker
mastecker@gmail.com

 


 
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IC 1396 in Cepheus (cropped)
 IC 1396 is amassive emission nebulalocated 2,400 light-years from Earth in the northern constellation  Cepheus.  Spanning ove 100 light-yearsin diameter and covering an area of the night sky six times the size of the full Moon, it is one of the largest star-forming regions visible from Earth.  The bright star at the upper left is super red giant Mu Cephei or "Garnet Star".  At the right side, mid-level is IC 1396A or "Elephant Trunk Nebula".  This is a joint project of james Foster and Michael Stecker usinh an Askar 103APO 4-inch triplet refractor and Zwo ASI6200MC-Pro full frame color camera, Hydrogen alpha and Oxygen-III light processed with PixInsight  and Adobe Photoshop Elements 2021.  The total exposure time was 20.15 hours.
file: IC1396asi6200mcAskar-PI-1acr1sm.jpg
 Click here for high resolution photo

Photographic Data
 Telescope:
Askar 103APO
103 mm (4-inch, f/6.8) triplet APO refractor with 0.6X focal reducer
Prime focal length: 700 mm
reduced focal length: 420 mm
reduced focal ratio: f/4

 imaging cameras:
ZWO ASI6200MC-Pro (color astrocamera)

 mount:
iOptron CEM60

exposure:
243x200sec 1x1bin colors(ASI6200MC)= 810min
HA(3nm): 203min (ASI6200MM)
OIII(3nm): 196min (ASI6200MM)
Total Exposure: 1,209 min or 20.15 hours
guiding:
SVBony 60 mm f/4 (FL= 240 mm) guide scope with ZWO ASI120MM-mini guide camera
 
processing
Aquired by James Foster with Maxim DL.
Processed in PixInsight 
Post-processed in Adobe Photoshop Elements 2021 by Michael Stecker.
 .
photographic site:
James Foster's observatory at Frazier Park California
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frazier_Park,_California
(Bortle 4 at 5,500 feet elevation)
 
 
 
Deeper red version of IC 1396

Deeper red high contrast version of IC 1396
file: IC1396asi6200mcAskar-PI-1acr1redsm.jpg
Click here for high resolution photo
 
 
 
Crop to Elephant Trunk (IC 1396A)

Crop to Elephant Trunk (IC 1396A)
 file: IC1396asi6200mcAskar-PI-1acret2.jpg
Click here for high resolution photo