Molecule clouds LBN 552 and LDN 1228

[Jedi2014]

The Molecule clouds LBN 552 and LDN 1228 consist mainly of a diffuse dark nebula on the right and a light nebula on the left, which were catalogued by Beverly T. Lynds in 1965 as LDN 1228 or LBN 552. Near the center of the image there is a unique orange reflection nebula, which is catalogued as GN 21.00.4 as well as RNO 129 and appears as a hill from the diffuse dusty region. This picture shows only a part of the LBN 552 and LDN 1228 structures, which cover a much larger area and are part of an even larger cloud system in this area of the Milky Way.
This molecule cloud is considered the weakest in the Lynds Bright Nebula catalog (5 and 6 on a scale of 1 to 6, with 6 being the weakest).

The last days in april brought quiet and sunny weather during the day, waning moon at night and a lot of clear sky. The right time for a molecular cloud. I would not have had the idea to photograph LDN 1228 and LDN 552 alone, the suggestion came from Marcel Drechlser, with whom I had already successfully photographed Sh2-174 in a cooperation. We arranged a cooperation on short notice. Marcel was to contribute the luminance and I should do the color.

This made sense, because Marcel's sky at about 900 m above sea level is darker and more transparent than mine by far - if the weather is right. Therefore, its luminance should provide the details and depth. My RGB images would make the picture more colorful. To cover as large a field as possible, I used my Epsilon with 430mm focal length and my Atik 490 Exm. Marcel used his RASA and an ASI 1600 MMC.

 

bigger and more information about the image:

http://www.spaceimages.de/en/astrophotos/nebula/lbn-552-ldn-1228

or https://www.astrobin.com/343865/

 

I hope you enjoy.

Jens

[pietervdv]

Looks amazing, such an interesting area.

Well done!

Pieter

[swag72]

That's a lovely image Jens...... well done to you both ????

[wimvb]

Great image, Jens. I noticed that Marcel's image on astrobin is flipped vertically, compared to yours. Any reason for this?

[Jedi2014]

Thanks for all nice comments. Marcel not only flipped his image, he streched the luminance more than me. Something to make a difference between our both images. ?