About image
Ghostly in appearance, Abell 39 is a remarkably simple, spherical nebula about five light-years across.
Well within our own Milky Way galaxy, the cosmic sphere is roughly 7,000 light-years distant toward the constellation Hercules.
Abell 39 is a planetary nebula, formed as a once sun-like star's outer atmosphere was expelled over a period of thousands of years. Still visible, the nebula's central star is evolving into a hot white dwarf. Although faint, the nebula's simple geometry has proven to be a boon to astronomers exploring the chemical abundances and life cycles of stars. In this image recorded under dark skies, very distant background galaxies can be found - some visible right through the nebula itself.
(text adapted from APOD)
Technical data
Optic GSO RC12 Truss - Aperture
304mm, focal lenght 2432mm, f/8
Mount 10Micron GM2000 HPSII
Camera ZWO ASI 2600 MM Pro with filter wheel 7 positions
Filters Astrodon Gen2
E-Serie Tru-Balance 50mm unmounted LRGB and OIII 5nm
Guiding system ZWO OAG-L with guide camera ASI 174MM
Exposure details R 24x300" bin3 -15C, gain 100
G 23x300" bin3 -15C, gain 100
B 23x300" bin3 -15C, gain 100
OIII 40x600" bin3 -15C, gain 100
Total integration 12h30'
Acquisition Voyager, PHD2
Processing Pixinsight 1.8,
Photoshop CS5, StarXTerminator, NoiseXTerminator, BlurXTerminator
SQM-L 21.00
Location Promiod (Aosta
Valley, Italy), own remote observatory
Date 10/11/12 February, 19/26 April, 26 May 2023