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Elephant, Heart, and Comet
Astronomy, Dwarf3 The Elephant’s Trunk Nebula, the Heart Nebula, and a cometIris Nebula complete for now; starting Heart Nebula
Astronomy, Dwarf3Date: September 2, 2025 at 09:13:33 MDT
Weather: 66°F Clear
Location: Louisville, Colorado, United States
Last night I gathered my third night’s worth of data for the Iris Nebula. I’ll paste in the three results-so-far: one night, two nights, three nights:
Iris Nebula
Astronomy, Dwarf3We finally got decent weather for astrophotography last night. The next two nights look good as well. I’m going to work on the Iris Nebula, C4.
I gave it pretty much the whole night, from astro dusk to astro dawn, with 45 second exposures, gain of 60. I used the astro filter, which is the first time I’ve done that for a nebula. I guess because it’s a reflection nebula, not an emission nebula, this makes more sense. Here is the initial stacking from Wormwood.
Pacman and Soul Nebula after three nights' integration
AstronomyLast night was the third night (not consecutive) that I gathered light from the Pacman and Soul Nebulae.
After the previous night, I learned that I can’t see the Pacman before roughly 10:15pm (10:30 is safer). With Astronomical Dusk around 9:30, I decided to gather light from the “Caroline’s Rose” cluster from 9:30 to 10:30. I got 40 subs, 60 seconds at 60 gain, astro filter; StellarStudio “auto” and I tried Apple Photos “enhance”, as well as a bit of cropping.
Working on Pacman and Soul Nebulae
Astronomy, Dwarf3We’ve had some clear skies lately, and I’ve decided to try MegaStack along with the other tools. I was planning to get M 103 while waiting for the Soul to get above the neighbors’ house, but the Pacman Nebula seems better now.
Plans for Soul Nebula revisited
AstronomyI’ve failed a few times to get the Soul Nebula from Monsters' Clubhouse, because it always seems to be behind the neighbors' house. But in Sky Safari I finally tried AR mode, and stood in the right spot, and hopefully have an idea of when I can expect the Soul to emerge.
To fill up the time before the Soul is visible, I’m going to aim at M 103 up until 12:56pm, then start the Soul at 1:06am.
Pacman Nebula and Heart Nebula
Astronomy, Dwarf3I made another try at the Heart Nebula, and added the Pacman Nebula onto the beginning.
Failed Mosaic
Astronomy, Dwarf3Last night I tried to take a mosaic of the Heart Nebula and the Soul Nebula. It turned out pretty awful. At least one quadrant was blocked by the neighbors’s house (I think). Here is the info:
Wizard nebula and Albireo
Astronomy, Dwarf3Took photos of Albireo and the Wizard Nebula last night. I saw the suggestion for Albireo recently, but I don’t remember where.