Object: NGC281 Camera: Meade DSI Pro II
Date: 10/3/2008 Telescope: Meade 80mm ED refractor
Total Exposure: LRGB: 120',30',30',30 respectively Subexposures: 4 minutes each
Mount: Orion Sirius EQ-G Guiding: PHD - Orion StarShoot Auto Guider
Location: West Boylston, MA Guide Scope: Orion Short Tube 80
Processing:
  • Nebulosity Processing:
    1. Dark/Flat frame calibration
  • Photoshop:
    1. Each channel imported using Fits Liberator plug-in
    2. Curves and Levels adjusted to each channel
    3. Red, Green and Blue channels RGB merged
    4. Luminance data added via Steve Cannistra's Luminance Corrected LRGB method
    5. More curves and levels adjustments to taste
Description:

NGC 281 aka "The Pacman Nebula"
sometimes referred to casually as the Pacman Nebula is an H II region in the constellation of Cassiopeia and part of the Perseus Spiral Arm. It includes or is near the open cluster IC 1590, the double star HD 5005, and several Bok globules.

This image is as wide as I can go with my 80mm refractor and focal reducer. The field of view is limited by the size of the chip in my camera. However, I think it yeilds a nice level of detail in areas such as this. It also shows just how large this object is.