IC 417 & NGC 1931 'spider & fly' in Ha

[Whippy]

These two objects are on the edges of the great area of nebulosity in Auriga that includes the Flaming Star (IC 405) and 'tadpole' (IC 410) nebulae. I managed an image of IC 417 last year but for some reason didn't think of including NGC 1931 so a few cloud free hours recently gave me that opportunity.

There's an APOD from a while ago that refers to these two as 'the spider and the fly' and I can see where they're coming from although I can also see IC 417 as a Chameleon trying to catch the fly with it's long tongue. Either way, they're quite a nice pair of objects. I think you could go on forever getting more of the faint background nebulosity but given that clear skies are at a premium, I think I'll quit while I'm still ahead and move on, I'm happy enough with this . This was taken on the 14th, 25th & 26th of November.

The technical bits: Exposure time, 8hrs 50 mins (53 x 10 mins). Taken with an Atik 16hr with a Baader 7nm Ha filter, through a WO ZS66. Guided by an ED80, QHY5 and PHD doing all the hard work all sitting atop an EQ6 pro. Stacked in DSS and processed in photoshop.

Hope you like it.

Tony..

[Paxo]

Excellent image (as usual) Tony. There's some very interesting detail in NGC1931 towards the top in your orientation, would be interesting to see this through "more aperture".

Steve..

[Whippy]

Thanks mate (or is that Santa?) , I think the 66's focal length is about the limit for getting a field as wide as this without losing huge amounts of detail. I guess I need a camera with a bigger chip Mr. Santa.....

Tony..

[James]

Nice one Tony. You do like going ever so slightly off the beaten track don't you?

James

[daz]

Nice one Tony, plenty of detail in them thar whispy bits!

[Shibby]

Thanks for posting, very interesting & nice image

[MartinB]

Never heard of those Tony so very interesting to see, esp the one on the right which looks like an eye on a stalk

[barkis]

You're really prospecting here Tony, and coming up with little nuggets. Some very fine whispy detail in this one.

Ron.

[peter shah]

thats sweet tony a super object very nicely processed

[Whippy]

Thanks guys , I really enjoy this part of year as there's a great variety of objects to image plus the long nights give everyone a chance to get stuck in!

Tony..

[Shibby]

Thanks guys , I really enjoy this part of year as there's a great variety of objects to image plus the long nights give everyone a chance to get stuck in!

Long, cloudy, cloudy, cloudy nights!

[MikeD]

Great work on an object that's new to me too.

Mike.

[Whippy]

Thanks for the kind words .

Long, cloudy, cloudy, cloudy nights!

Yeah, but they'll be one or two that'll be absolutely superb! IIRC, Christmas day was one such night last year .

Tony..