What would be even cooler than claiming the Moon? Claiming a nebula! Located in the constellation Perseus and discovered in 1884 by E. E. Barnard, the California Nebula is known for its elongated shape which loosely resembles the Golden State. Despite extending 100 light years in length–making it one of the largest nebulas in our local Orion Arm of the galaxy–it’s surrounded by only stars and faint molecular clouds for several trillion miles in all directions. Coincidentally, the declination of the California Nebula (+36º 25’ 18”) is the same as the latitude of California on Earth!
Acquisition Date: December 4, 2020–December 7, 2020
Acquisition Site: Backyard
Image Details: 252 x 120s (8h 24m)
Equipment: ZWO ASI2600MC-Pro, Takahashi FSQ-106EXDIII, AP1200GTO, Radian Triad Ultra Filter 2″