NGC 7023 - The Iris Nebula
A sprawling field of dark dust surrounding an open cluster of bright stars
A sprawling field of dark dust surrounding an open cluster of bright stars
"Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?"
Isaiah 40:12 KJV
The Iris Nebula, also known as NGC 7023, is a stunning reflection nebula situated in the constellation Cepheus. Most measurements place the center of this object a cool 1,300 lightyears from Earth. Captured over the course of several months using LRGB filters, this image attempts showcase the nebula's bright core in contrast with the dim, surrounding dust.
LRGB filters, representing Luminance (L), Red (R), Green (G), and Blue (B), were used with a monochrome camera to capture the nebula in true color. The Luminance filter captured overall brightness details, while the Red, Green, and Blue filters were used to capture each color to form a full color image.
This wide field of view enables us to see the delicate clouds of diffuse dust that are invisible without long exposures far from city lights. The majority of the luminance data for this image was captured from rural skies and at an altitude of 1800 meters or just over 5,900 feet.