Object: NGC 7822 & Cederblad 214 (Sharpless 2-171) Type: Bright Nebula
Distance: 2750 light yearsConstellation: Cepheus
Date: 11 October 2008
Equipment: SXV-H9, 135mm telephoto lens
Subframes: 40 x 300s 2x2 binned subframes in H alpha (unguided), 30 darks, 30 flats/flat darks, calibrated and stacked in AIP4Win.
Ace astroimager Rob Gendler tells us in his wonderful book "A Year In The Life Of The Universe", that "the faint northern arch of nebulosity is designated NGC 7822, and the brighter southern cloud is designated S 171, from naval astronomer Stewart Sharpless' 1959 catalogue of HII regions." The SkyMap Pro software I use to plan imaging sessions indicates that the lower cloud is denoted as Cederblad 214, the whole area of nebulosity being designated Sh2-171.
Whatever the "proper" designations, the brighter parts of this complex always (photographically at least) remind me of an egg (the C-214 portion) and spoon (NGC 7822), so I've decided to call it that.
A gibbous moon just a couple of days off full coupled with an ever-increasing soggy mist didn't aid particularly detailed imaging, but the main bright and dark features of the area are nevertheless visible in the above image (click for a larger view, for what it's worth). Mr. Gendler's expert rendition can be seen here. Something to aspire to, I guess...
A false colour image is appended below.
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