NGC 1579 is a combination of emission nebulosity and reflection nebulosity. Emission nebulae occur when hydrogen gas is made to emit light in the red part of the color spectrum and glow like a neon sign due to the radiation from nearby hot stars. Reflection nebulae typically show in the blue part of the spectrum as they reflect the light of young, hot stars. This entire area is covered in dust, making it hard to see the background sky, particularly at this small field of view. This nebula complex is found in Perseus and is about 2,000 light-years away. It is sometimes referred to as the "Northern Trifid" due to its central dust lanes and expanding hydrogen gas, as is seen in M20, the Trifid Nebula, found in the southern summer sky. However, it is rather diminutive at 3 light-years across as compared to the about 40 light-years width of M20.


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Dates:
November 27 - 30, 2011
Location:
Ft. Griffin State Historic Site, Texas
Telescope:
Celestron C11Edge @ f/10 2800mm FL
Mount:
Astro-Physics Mach1 guided by the ST-10XE using the Remote Guide Head thru a Hutech Off Axis Guider
Camera:
SBIG ST-10XE at prime focus with CFW8 and Astronomik LRGB filters
Image Scale:
.5 arcsecs/pxl
Camera Control:
Maxim DL 5.15
Exposures:
Luminance - 365 mins; 1x1
Red - 150 mins; 2x2
Green - 150 mins; 2x2
Blue - 150 mins; 2x2
Exposure time:
13 hrs 50 mins
Processing:
CCDStack; Registar; Photoshop CS2