Waid Observatory

Object: NGC 7023 - The Iris Nebula

Date: June 13-14-15, 2020    -    Location: The Davis Mountains west of Fort Davis, Texas
Telescope: 10 in. RC  -  Camera: Apogee F8300M  -  Mount: Paramount MX
Exposure: L = 300 min. - R = 200 min. - G = 160 min. - B = 240 min.
Guided using Innovations Foresight On Axis Guider (ONAG) and ST-8300M

Click on the image to view at higher resolution.


NGC7023

NGC 7023 (The Iris Nebula) 1

Discovered in 1794 by William Herschel

NGC 7023, also known as The Iris Nebula, is located approximately 1300 light years from the Earth in the constellation Cepheus.  This beautiful nebula shines with the reflected light from the its bright central star. (Designated HD 200775)  This is a relatively young pre-main sequence star approximately 10 times the mass of our Sun.  The bright portion of the nebula is about 6 light years across its long axis.  This is only a small part of a much larger dust and gas cloud that stretches through out this part of space.  As there is very interesting chemistry taking place within the nebula, NGC 7023 continues to be the object of much astronomical research .  Studies of spectra data collected by the Spitzer Space Telescope indicate the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, fullerenes, and even diamonds.

1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iris_Nebula

 
Copyright Donald P. Waid