The North America Nebula (NGC 7000 or Caldwell 20) is an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus, close to Deneb (the tail of the swan and its brightest star). The remarkable shape of the nebula resembles that of the continent of North America, complete with a prominent Gulf of Mexico. It is sometimes incorrectly called the “North American Nebula”.

The North America Nebula is large, covering an area of more than four times the size of the full moon; but its surface brightness is low, so normally it cannot be seen with the unaided eye. Binoculars and telescopes with large fields of view (approximately 3°) will show it as a foggy patch of light under sufficiently dark skies. However, using a UHC filter, which filters out some unwantedwavelengths of light, it can be seen without magnification under dark skies. Its prominent shape and especially its reddish color (from the hydrogen Hα emission line) show up only in photographs of the area.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: ATM 6″ F5 Newtonian
Imaging cameras: Canon 60Da
Mounts: Atlas EQ6 Atlas
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Orion 50mm guidescope Miniguider 50mm
Guiding cameras: Orion Starshoot Autoguider Orion Starshoot Auto-Guider
Software: DSS, StarTools, BYEOS, SkyTools
Accessories: Paracorr ll
Resolution: 1840×1225
Dates: Sept. 15, 2014
Locations: Sierra Nevada
Frames: 29×420″
Integration: 3.4 hours
Avg. Moon age: 21.12 days
Avg. Moon phase: 60.89%
RA center: 314.558 degrees
DEC center: 43.952 degrees
Pixel scale: 3.059 arcsec/pixel
Orientation: 91.217 degrees
Field radius: 0.939 degrees

Аuthor: PJ Mahany

Astrofotography of the day of  SPONLI, 15.11.2014