NGC 7129

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"NGC 7129 is a reflection nebula located 3,300 light years away in the constellation Cepheus. A young open cluster is responsible for illuminating the surrounding nebula. A recent survey indicates the cluster contains more than 130 stars less than 1 million years old.

The nebula is rosebud-shaped; the young stars have blown a large, oddly shaped bubble in the molecular cloud that once surrounded them at their birth. The rosy pink color comes from glowing dust grains on the surface of the bubble being heated by the intense light from the young stars within.

Three very young stars near the center of the nebula are sending jets of supersonic gas into the cloud. The collision of these jets heats carbon monoxide molecules in the nebula. This produces the complex nebulosity that appears like a stem of a rosebud."

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Date : August 2109
Location : Backridge Observatory, Spruce Knob, West Virginia

Equipment used :
 Lens or telescope -- Homemade 16" Newtonian with MPCC
 Mount -- AP 1200
 Camera -- QSI 683wsg with Lodestar 2x guider

Acquistion Software : ACP, MaxIm DL, Focusmax
Processing Software : PixInsight, Photoshop           SynLRGB combine

Exposure Detail : Total hours   9.3