Astro-Physics 160 EDF Refractor at f/7.7

Astro-Physics 1200 GTO

SBIG ST-10XME

Tru-Balance 5nm Hydrogen-alpha filter

01 and 03 November 2010

Mount Wilson Observatory - Mount Wilson, CA

Ha 26 x 1200 sec 1x1 bin (8h40m total exposure)

Maxim DL/CCD, CCD Stack, Photoshop CS5

Field of View: 40'26" x 27'10" centered on RA 00h53m04s
DEC+56°34'08" (2000.0) . North angle 269.5°; east 90° CCW from north

NGC 281, the Pac-Man Nebula in Cassiopeia, is an often imaged target of amateur astronomers. Lying at a distance of about 9500 light years from Earth, this spectacular emission nebula is noted for its deep, dark gash of obscuring dust and numerous Bok globules. At the center lies the small open cluster IC 1590, its massive young stars providing the illumination for the nebula. The brightest of these stars is a multiple system named BU 1 for its discoverer, the famed double star astronomer S.W. Burnham.