| "The sky is the ultimate art gallery just above us." - Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 82) |
Astrophotography by Jason Jennings |
| << Back to Gallery | |
|---|---|
| Nebulae :: RCW68-69 | |
|
|
|
| Resolutions Available: 800x600 : 1600x1200 : 2400x1800 | |
| Object | RCW68-69 |
| Comment |
Residing on the constellation of Crux (Southern Cross) are the nebulae RCW68 and RCW69. RCW68 is an faint emission nebula ionised by the O8 III giant HD 109978 and the B0.5 III giant HD 110498. The nebula lies towards the edge of the Cen OB1 association. RCW 68 is the brightest part of a large emission ring about 1 degree in diameter. The true nature and full extent of this nebula is much better revealed in infrared compared to visible wavelengths. Although once believed to be an HII region, RCW 69 is now established as a bipolar planetary nebula PN G302.1+00.3. It is one of the largest and nearest bipolar Type I planetary nebula discovered and displays both Ha (red) and OIII (blue) emissions resulting in a pink hue. An annotated image produced by Sakib Rasool is available here for reference. Thanks Sakib. The image is a [Ha+R]GB, OIII composite. |
| Optics | Modified ASA N16 Astrograph F/3.5 (1396mm FL) |
| Camera | Apogee Alta F16000 - 1x1 bin (image scale: 1.1 arcsec/pix) |
| Mount | Software Bisque Paramount ME |
| Exposure | Total exposure time: 9.5 hours |
| Date | May 2015 |