Astrophoto: A Different Look at North American Nebula by Carl Larson

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Carl Larson captured this image of the North American Nebula on Fremont Peak State Park, California on April 30, 2011. But unlike the images of the North American nebula submitted to us by other astrophotographers, this one’s presented in a different perspective.

“I decided to present the image rotated sideways from convention. I think it highlights those wonderful dark nebula clouds. At least they seem more obvious to me when I’m not so focused on making those ionized hydrogen clouds into a continent.

The dark complex separating the North American and Pelican nebulas (where the Gulf of Mexico should be) looks to me like a frog jumping into a pond. The obscuring dust really seems to stand out in front of the nebula.”

Carl also provided us with the specs he used:
QSI583 CCD, Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L @ f/4
Astrodon Ha (3A) filter
19 x 300sec exposures (95min total)
AP900 Mount
calibration, registration and post-processed in PixInsight

Check out Carl’s astrophotography blog for more photos.

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