wide field astrophotography
Located roughly 9,200 light years away from Earth, the Pacman Nebula (NGC 281, IC 11, Sh2-184) is a large emission nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia. It is called the Pacman Nebula for its resemblance to Pac-Man character in the popular 1980s video game.
Camera: ASI2600MC | Scope: 61mm WO Zenithstar 61 | Exposure: 120m | Date: 2024-07-01 & 2024-07-13
The image above (version 2) was composed from a combination of eleven 5 minute exposures captured on July 1, 2024 and thirteen 5 minute exposures captured on July 13, 2024. The combined 2 hour of integrated exposure reveals more detail in the fainter areas of nebulosity as compared to the original 55 minutes of exposure below.
Camera: ASI2600MC | Scope: 61mm WO Zenithstar 61 | Exposure: 55m | Date: 2024-07-01
The Pacman Nebula s is a star-forming region that contains young stars, large dark dust lanes and small dense dark nebulae packed with material from which new stars are formed (Bok globules). The dark dust lanes and glowing ionized clouds of hydrogen suggests that it being illuminated by a massive star in the background, concealed by the dark clouds.
Annotated version: Camera: ASI2600MC | Scope: 61mm WO Zenithstar 61 | Exposure: 55m | Date: 2024-07-01
