The North American and Pelican Neabulae are bright emission nebulae in the constellation Cygnus close to the bright star Deneb. They are named because with some imagination they resemble North America and a Pelican bird. The portion of the North American Nebula resembling Mexico and Central America is known as the Cygnus wall, the region which exhibits the most concentrated star formation activity and is definitely an interesting region for me for future close-up photographing.
To capture this image I used the “nebula rig” and the Ha and Oiii filters with a total exposure time of 8 hours.
Why do I keep taking these images of the night sky? Sweden is really not the perfect place for astrophotography with very bright summer nights being situated close to the arctic circle making astrophotography impossible for many summer months. Also, weather conditions are not optimal with few cloud free nights. Unfortunately only a few of my friends share this interest so I am quite alone in this hobby. And in the winter when the night sky at rare occasions finally clears I leave a cosy warm home and walk out in total darkness and the freezing cold…
Well, it’s a combination of many factors. First I am fascinated by astronomy and the vastness of the universe, I get philosophical standing by the telescope gazing at the stars and the faint Milky Way. Secondly I enjoy the technicality of the astro-gear making them work together to produce quality images. And finally I enjoy putting it all together in the computer with the artistry involved deciding how to frame the image and making the image look interesting. And there is always something to improve and do better next time…