Stacks Image 4832

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LBN 438

About this object

LBN 438 is a galactic dark nebula located in the constellation Lacerta. It is illuminated by interstellar radiation which is known as Extended Red Emission (ERE). LBN 438 is listed a an ionized HII region but has a very weak Ha signal. This image was taken from my suburban backyard. I've imaged this object before from a dark site with a f3.8 10" reflector. See here: LBN 438 10"f3.8. I was curious to see if I could get nearly the same signal as the previous image with a slightly smaller scope at nearly the same focal length and from my backyard. I think the answer is a definite yes. However, it took nearly double the exposure time due to my local light pollution. My 6" refractor provided nearly the same resolution. LBN 438 is part of a much larger molecular cloud including LBN437 which I imaged with a 70mm refractor in 2017.

Image Details

  • Optics : Stellarvue SVX152T refractor @f6 898mm FL
  • Mount: Paramount MYT
  • Camera: QSI 683
  • Filters: Astrodon
  • Exposure (min): LRGBHa: 335:500:500:450:600 Bin 1x1
  • Camera/Mount Control: The Sky X, CCD Auto Pilot 5
  • Guiding: Starlight Xpress Lodestar X2
  • Processing: PixInsight 1.8,
  • Location: Stark Bayou Observatory, Ocean Springs, MS
  • Sky: Typical SQM 19.6-20.0, Bortle 5, Suburban
  • Date: 29 July - 4 Sep 2019
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