Abell 71 / PK 85+4.1
Planetary Nebula in Cygnus

RA: 20h 32m 24.0s Dec: +47° 21' 00 Mag: 14.5, Size: 2.8' x 2.5', Distance: --ly

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   Abell 71 (Pk 85+04.1) is a faint planetary nebula in the constellation Cygnus with a magnitude 18.9 central star. This was originally classified as one of four planetary nebulas in Cygnus by G. Abell in 1955. Studies conducted by P.Pismis, I.Hasse & A.Quintero in 1991 are suggesting this is actually just a region of H-alpha gasses based on narrow band images that show strong H II regions but almost no O III emissions that are characteristic of a planetary nebula. The faint nebulosity surrounding Abell 71 is part of a much larger neighboring nebula complex SH2-115.

Location & Date Backyard, Abbott Observatory - July 1, 27-30, Aug 2-3, 2010
Temperature - Low 70's F
Telescope Deep Sky Instruments RC10C , F/7.3, Losmandy G11 Gemini, Prime Focus, Image scale 0.82 arcsec/pixel
Camera SBIG ST-2000XM w/CFW8, AO8
Baader LRGB AR Filters
CCD temp -15°C
Exposure Times (Ha) 75x10 (R) 9x10 (G) 9x10 (B) 9x10 Minutes, Bin 1x1
Other Information Image planning - CCD Navigator
Image acquisition/focus/guiding/dither - CCD Autopilot4 w/CCDSoft/TheSky6/PinPoint
Image Processing * Images Plus 3.75- Calibration, Normalize, Grade, Alignment, Sigma Avg. Combine, Deconvolution, Mild DDP
* Adobe CS4 - Ha+RGB combine, Levels, Curves, Sharpening, Cropping, NR, JPEG conversion

© 2010 Michael A. Siniscalchi