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 NGC7023 - Iris Nebula 
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About:
Like delicate cosmic petals, these clouds of interstellar dust and gas have blossomed 1,300 light-years away in the fertile star fields of the constellation Cepheus. Sometimes called the Iris Nebula and dutifully cataloged as NGC 7023, this is not the only nebula in the sky to evoke the imagery of flowers. Still, this beautiful digital image shows off the Iris Nebula's range of colors and symmetries. Within the Iris, dusty nebular material surrounds a massive, hot, young star in its formative years. Central filaments of cosmic dust glow with a reddish photoluminescence as some dust grains effectively convert the star's invisible ultraviolet radiation to visible red light. Yet the dominant color of the central nebula is blue, characteristic of dust grains reflecting starlight. Dark, obscuring clouds of dust and cold molecular gas are present on the left of the image, and lead the eye to see other convoluted and fantastic shapes. Infrared observations indicate that this nebula may contain complex carbon molecules known as PAHs. As shown here, the bright blue portion of the Iris Nebula is about six light-years across. [Text from APOD]



Optics: Takahashi FSQ-106EDXIII F/3.6 383mm. - APO Refractor
Mount: HEQ5 Pro
Camera: QSI-683WSG
Filters: Astrodon E Series Gen II LRGB 31mm
Guiding Systems: SX Lodestar
Dates/Times: 30 July 2014
Location: Castelmagno - Cuneo - Italy
Exposure Details: L:R:G:B => 120:48:48:48 = > (15x8):(6x8):(6x8):(6x8) All Bin1 [num x minutes]
Cooling Details: -25 °C
Acquisition: Maxim DL/CCD, TheSkyX, Voyager
Processing: CCDStack2+, PixInsight, PS CS5
Mean FWHM: 1.91
SQM-L: 21.61