In the winter months, finding a suitably clear location to shoot the many available targets can be extremely difficult.  A new location in Italy at 1280m was a necessity.  Whilst the height got us above the fog that filled the valleys bellow, and icy wind proved particularly challenging. Nevertheless, data on several targets could be obtained and The Wizard nebula is a small, though no less magnificent, example. Designated Sh2 142, it contains the open cluster NGC 7380 and lies within the Perseus arm of the Milky Way (8500 ly distant) in the constellation of Cepheus.  It has an apparent magnitude of 7.2 with an apparent size of ca. 25 arcminutes. A classic rendition sees hydrogen-alpha mapped to red, sulphur-II emission to yellow, with oxygen-III providing the highlights in the centre of the nebulosity.

Celestron RASA 11″ 
10Micron GM1000 HPS 
SIGMA fp L (monochrome) / SIGMA fp L (colour)
H-alpha / S-II / O-III ultra-fast narrowband filters
ca. 3 hrs, ISO 1600, F2.2, 620mm 

Go to shop >