I thought it was almost impossible to frame both the North America and Pelican Nebulae in my widest field setup. For years, I’ve used Telescopious to frame both of these and they never fit in my field of view. But, when I recently took this, I noticed a significant amount more of the Pelican Nebula than Telescopious simulated. I moved the North America Nebula more left and there it was–North America Nebula + Pelican Nebula nicely framed.
About the North America Nebula and Pelican Nebula
The North American Nebula and the Pelican Nebula are two striking and iconic nebulae located in the constellation of Cygnus. The North American Nebula is officially designated as NGC 7000 while the Pelican Nebula goes by IC 5070.
NGC 7000 is approximately 1,600 light-years away from Earth, making it a relatively close neighbor in astronomical terms. The Pelican Nebula, on the other hand, is slightly farther at around 1,800 light-years away. Both nebulae are part of the same vast cloud of ionized hydrogen gas, which is illuminated by nearby hot, young stars.
The North American Nebula gets its name from its shape, which resembles the continent of North America. The Pelican Nebula, as its name suggests, has the form of a pelican when viewed from a certain angle.
Both nebulae are excellent beginner astrophotography targets due to their brightness and relatively large size. They can be easily captured with a DSLR camera, 200mm lens, and a tripod, making them accessible to those new to astrophotography. The North America and the Pelican Nebulae are also popular among seasoned astrophotographers because of their intricate details and vibrant colors, making for stunning images when captured with longer exposures and specialized equipment.
Overall, the North American and Pelican Nebulae are not only beautiful celestial sights but also great opportunities for enthusiasts of all levels to explore and capture the wonders of the cosmos.
My History with NGC 7000
This was actually the first target I ever took! I took it with a Fujifilm X-S10 in 2022 and it took until now to finally revisit it. The original photo I linked above is not much to look at. But, at the time, it was exciting to get some nebulosity and a bunch of bloated stars in a photo. I’m as excited shooting this today on a mono camera–bringing out its beauty with 10 hours of integration time.
How I Shot This
This photo is a total of 9.8 hours of integration time; details and filters used can be found on Astrobin. I shot this with a mono camera and using Antlia 3nm filters for Hydrogen Alpha, Oxygen III, and Sulphur II. In addition, I shot 45 minutes of RGB to bring the surrounding star field of these 2 nebulas to life.
My only regret is I wish I had done this earlier than I did. Knowing now that I was able to fit both in my widest-field setup, it was a no-brainer. I’m looking to get an even wider lens or possibly a larger sensor camera like the ASI2600MM in the future. With either, I can capture an even wider field of this patch of Cygnus.
If you were to do this, I’d definitely recommend shooting RGB stars. The stars surrounding this are amazing and unlike many other targets. It would be a big loss for the photo not to have true RGB stars. I’m also amazed by how much Oxygen III signal is here. In most nebulas, the Oiii signal is very minimal. In this one, it was dominant.
In Conclusion
Will I do this again? Probably, but it may not be for another 2-3 years and I’ll likely need a good reason. Shooting this again with my current setup will not yield a very noticeable improvement.
It will likely take the purchase of a wider field telescope or lens like the Rokinon 135 OR the purchase of a large-sensor camera like the ASI2600MM I linked above. Either of these will allow me to capture a wider field of view than I could now.
Clear Skies!
