Takahashi FCT-76 at f/4.5

Astro-Physics 1200 GTO

SBIG ST-10XME

Custom Scientific 3nm Hydrogen-Alpha

21 July 2005

Mount Wilson Observatory - Mount Wilson, CA

Ha 9 x 1800 sec 1x1 bin

Maxim DL/CCD, Registar, Photoshop CS

Field of View: 02°15’ x 01°24’ centered on RA 21h12m50s
DEC 59°53’22” (2000.0). North angle 272.0 °; east 90° CCW from north

Seldom imaged, Sharpless 2-129 is a very faint emission nebula lying 2.5° SSW of Alpha Cephei (Alderamin) and about 4.5° NW of its more often photographed neighbor IC 1396. In spite of the fact that the above image has a total exposure time of 4.5 hours, this nebula is only faintly recorded, attesting to its elusive qualities. As of the posting date for this image, a search of the Internet revealed very few monochrome H-alpha images of this object and only a handful of color images detailing its structure to any reasonable degree.

My wife thinks this objects looks like a flying bat, with the bright nebula at the bottom of the frame being the head and body, while its wings extend upward as outlined by the object's fainter filamentary structure. I guess this bat is about to start its downward power stroke soon!