The Bubble Nebula NGC 7635

Object: NGC 7635 (Caldwell 11)

Type: Emission Nebula

Distance: 7100 light years 

Constellation: Cassiopeia

Date: 5&6 November 2017
Equipment: SXV-H9, Vixen 114mm f5.3 ED refractor, guiding with Lodestar X2/PHD

Subframes: 42 x 300s H-alpha as luminance, 12 x 75s 2x2 binned each for RGB

Images acquired, pre-processed and stacked in Astroart.  Digital development and high/low pass filters applied, colour composited all in Astroart.  Final cosmetic processing (cropping, mild edge preserving smooth for noise) in PaintShop Pro.

More information about this object can be found here...

A faint trace of nebulosity around the bright star inside the Bubble can just be seen with the ED114 and a 25mm eyepiece. Larger aperture scopes don't really reveal any more details, at least not to me.

Open Cluster M52...

Open Cluster in Cassiopeia: Messier 52

Object: Messier 52 (NGC 7654)

Type: Open Cluster 

Distance: 5100 light years 

Constellation: Cassiopeia

Date: 27 October 2017
Equipment: SXV-H9, Vixen 114mm f5.3 ED refractor

Subframes: 12 x 150 second luminance, 6 x 40 second 2x2 binned each for RGB

Images were acquired, stacked and colour-composited in AstroArt.  Final cosmetic processing was in PaintShop Pro.

This was really just a test of PHD guiding, which I had never used before and which worked just fine, first time.

Visually, this cluster is a real treat through the ED114 and a 15mm eyepiece, looking pretty much as it does in the image given a dark sky.