niteskys.com - VDB15 Nebula in Camelopardalis
 

Image Data

September 7, 2007,
September 19, 2007,
October 5, 2007, and
October 7, 2007

180 minutes luminance
120 minutes red
120 minutes green
120 minutes blue

Equipment Used

Takahashi FSQ-106ED
Takahashi NJP Mount
SBIG ST-2000XM w/CFW8A
Tru-Balance Filters

Processing Tools

CCDStack
Photoshop CS3

 
<click on image for 100% resolution - 790K>

The image above shows the reflection nebula VDB15 in the constellation of Camelopardalis.  This nebula is very difficult for the suburban imager to capture due to its low surface brightness.  Even with a cumulative nine hour integration time, this image suffers from underexposure and lacks depth.   In spite of the technical problems, the image shows a very interesting, unexplored area of the sky that features delicate color hues and dark nebula of various shapes and sizes.