The "Helix Nebula" NGC7293 in Aqr - a tough target (firstLight)

Celestial hemisphere: Southern · Constellation: Aquarius (Aqr) · Contains: Helix Nebula · NGC 7293

The "Helix Nebula" NGC7293 in Aqr - a tough target, firstLight

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The "Helix Nebula" NGC7293 in Aqr - a tough target

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The "Helix Nebula" NGC7293 in Aqr - a tough target

The "Helix Nebula" NGC7293 in Aqr - a tough target

In order to photograph the Helix Nebula here from our Alpine valley, you have to accept a few restrictions: It only stands for about 2 hours above the southern horizon, which is defined here by the Wettersteingebirge (mountain range), which are up to almost 3000 meters high. NGC7293 peaks at just 21° and the photo must also be taken directly through the light dome over Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

During the four nights from October 30th to November 4th, 2024, the sky around the new moon is dark and the nights are long. After very wonderful days, fog always forms in the valley as soon as the Sun has disappeared behind the mountains. Almost every night, high cirrus clouds pass through ... taking photos becomes a game of chance.

In fact, I was able to collect photons from the Helix Nebula for only 1 hour in a single night - that was all I could do. Now it's approaching the full moon and the weather is typically cold, damp and densely gray in November. So I took what I had - 20 pictures, 3 minutes each - and created the result shown here.

I love the heaven -
and heaven loves me.

< = >

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The “AstroBin Image of the Day and Top Picks”, or IOTD/TP, is a long-running system to promote beautiful, interesting, peculiar, or otherwise amazing astrophotographs, with a focus on technical excellence. Learn more.

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The "Helix Nebula" NGC7293 in Aqr - a tough target

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The "Helix Nebula" NGC7293 in Aqr - a tough target

The "Helix Nebula" NGC7293 in Aqr - a tough target

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