NGC7023 - The Iris Nebula

nebulae

The Iris Nebula is an reflection nebula located in the constellation Cepheus. Unlike emission nebula that are glowing ionized gas, reflection nebulae are clouds of gas and dust reflecting light from nearby stars. Because blue light reflects more efficiently off the dust and gas, it’s typically the predominant color of reflection nebula (the same reason why our sky is blue).

This image consists of 15 60s, 20 180s, and 15 360s exposures with a Canon T4i DSLR and Edge 11” SCT at f/10, taken from a dark sky site near Blanding, UT.

Resolution ........ 0.317 arcsec/pix
Rotation .......... 146.234 deg
Focal ............. 2927.27 mm
Pixel size ........ 4.50 um
Field of view ..... 27' 11.4" x 17' 53.6"
Image center ...... RA: 21 01 18.702  Dec: +68 10 55.09