November 16, 2024

NGC 2371/2 – Planetary Nebula in Gemini

NGC 2371/2 – Planetary Nebula in Gemini

Telescope: Meade 12” LX850 ACF @ f/8, Orion Atlas EQ-G

Camera: ZWO ASI071 MC Pro, -10C, Gain 200

Filter: Orion Imaging Skyglow Filter

Guide scope: Astro-Tech 60mm, ASI290MM Mini, PHD2

Exposure: 22x240sec, saved as FITS

Darks: 32x240s, saved as FITS

Flats: 32x1sec, Tee shirt flats taken at dawn

Average Light Pollution: Red zone, Bortle 8, fair transparency

Lensed Sky Quality Meter: 18.6 mag/arc-sec^2

Stacking: Mean with a 2-sigma clip.

White Balance: Nebulosity Automatic

Software: Nebulosity, Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop

NGC 2371/2 is a fascinating little planetary nebula in northern Gemini placed midway between Castor and Pollux. When this nebula was discovered it was thought that it was actually two separate objects, hence the two New General Catalog (NGC) numbers. The core nebula shows two clearly resolved lobes with two faint outer arcs. The seeing was pretty rough when this image set was taken so I down-sampled it a bit to keep it from looking too soft. I’ll be taking another look at this nebula on an evening with better seeing.