NGC1499 the whole deal

 

Following on from the image  posted of part of NGC1499 , we used data from the old 'Cluster camera' on Mount Teide-Tenerife  (part of the then Bradford Robotic Telescope) and added infra red data from the WISE infra-red space telescope, to  produce this dusty and Ha enhanced image  of the full California Nebula. Credits: telescope.org Open Observatories, Astrometry net, NASA/JPL and Pip Stakkert.

" This emission nebula is large and often pops up in our widefield images of the area of sky encompassing the constellations Perseus and Taurus. It stretches 2.5 degrees across the sky and is about 100 light years across. It is approximately 1000 light years away in the constellation Perseus.  For an idea of scale the Moon which is less than 250,000 miles distant has an apparent diameter of only 0.5 degrees. The California Nebula glows red as the hydrogen gas is excited by the ultra violet light from the nearby star Menkib (Xi Persei)" - Karl Segin outreach coordinator at the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

Credit: Astrometry. net

Widefield image taken from the Jodrell Plank Observatory, showing the California Nebula top left and the Pleiades bottom right.

The Double Cluster in Widefield Wonder

 

A stack of RAW lights captured with the Jodrell Plank Observatory's Canon 600d DSLR with EOS zoom lens at f=90mm ISO1600 on a Star Adventurer EQ mount. Infra-red data was added from the WISE space telescope to increase the dynamic range of the final image. Credit: Pip Stakkert, NASA and Astrometry.net.

Area of sky covered by the image; Credit Astrometry.net

"The Double Cluster in the constellation Perseus are two open star clusters, NGC869 and NGC884, seen side by side in the night sky as viewed from the Northern Hemisphere. There are more than 300 blue-white super-giant stars in each of these clusters. The clusters are very young at 14 million years old and are much younger than the Pleiades. They are some 7500 light years distant in the Perseus arm of the Milky Way. The clusters may be seen with the naked eye from a dark location but come to life when viewed through binoculars or a telescope at low magnification. The glowing gas and dust associated with the Heart and Soul and Fishhead nebulae show up well in the infra-red data from the WISE telescope and can be seen as the red bobs centre top in our image" - Kurt Thrust current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.