by Craig and Tammy Temple
The California Nebula (Sh2-220) was discovered by E. E. Barnard in
1884. Named for it's resemblance to the U.S. State, it has a magnitude
of 6.0, but a very low surface brightness. NGC1499 is located in the
constellation Perseus. This image was acquired during a waning gibbous
Moon at 77% illumination.
Telescope: William Optics ZenithStar 66 at f/4.7
Accessories: William Optics 0.8x FR/FF vII
Mount: Orion Atlas EQ-G controlled by EQMOD
Guiding: Orion StarShoot AutoGuider on Orion 80ED
Camera: Self-modified Canon Digital Rebel XT
Filters: Astronomik 6nm H-Alpha EOS Clip
Exposure: 18 x 600sec @ ISO 1600 (3hr.)
Acquisition: ImagesPlus 3.75 Camera Control
Processing: ImagesPlus 3.75 – Calibrated, registered, Min-Max excluded averaged, DDP
Post-processing: Adobe Photoshop CS4; Gradient XTerminator; Noise Ninja
Date(s): November 6, 2009
Temperature(s): 51ºF (dropped to 46ºF)
SQM reading (begin - end): 18.48 – 18.27 mags./sq. Arcsec