IC 5070 Pelican NebulaIC 5070 Pelican Nebula
IC 5070, a region of active star formation also known as the Pelican Nebula in the constellation Cygnus. The distinctive forms of the immense clouds of dust and mostly hydrogen gas are being sculpted by wind and radiation from bright stars nearby but out of the frame. One feature in particular, the dark, slender, elephant trunk-shaped column near the center shows clear evidence of new stars forming: "protostellar" jets of material appearing at the tip of the column (showing better in the second, detail image).

A composite of images taken with two different cameras and filters on two nights in Southern Indiana.
5hr 15min total exposure
GSO 8" f/8 RC Astrograph CF
ZWO ASI2600MM Pro cooled monochrome CMOS camera, SVBONY H-alpha (Hα) 7nm filter, August 7, 2025, 30x300sec., gain 100, bin 1, -5ºC
ZWO ASI2600MM Pro cooled monochrome CMOS camera, SVBONY H-alpha (Hα) 7nm filter, August 7, 2025, 21x300sec., gain 100, bin 2, -5ºC
ZWO ASI2600MC Pro cooled color CMOS camera, IDAS DTD filter August 12, 2025, 30x120sec., gain 100, bin 1 10ºC
ZWO EAF autofocuser
Losmandy GM811G mount
Auto-guided, Askar off-axis guider, ZWO ASI174MM Mini guide camera
ZWO ASIAir Plus controller
Processed in Astro Pixel Processor, Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop

#deepskyphotography #astrophotography

Today's Cosmic Postcard is a region of active star formation known as IC 5070 (aka the Pelican Nebula) in the constellation Cygnus. The distinctive forms of the immense clouds of dust and mostly hydrogen gas are being sculpted by wind and radiation from bright stars nearby but out of the frame. One feature in particular, the dark, slender, elephant trunk-shaped column near the center shows clear evidence of new stars forming: "protostellar" jets of material appearing at the tip of the column (showing better in the second, detail image).

IC 5070 DetailIC 5070 Detail
Technical information:
A composite of images taken with two different cameras and filters on two nights in Southern Indiana.
5hr 15min total exposure
GSO 8" f/8 RC Astrograph CF
ZWO ASI2600MM Pro cooled monochrome CMOS camera, SVBONY H-alpha (Hα) 7nm filter, August 7, 2025, 30x300sec., gain 100, bin 1, -5ºC
ZWO ASI2600MM Pro cooled monochrome CMOS camera, SVBONY H-alpha (Hα) 7nm filter, August 7, 2025, 21x300sec., gain 100, bin 2, -5ºC
ZWO ASI2600MC Pro cooled color CMOS camera, IDAS DTD filter August 12, 2025, 30x120sec., gain 100, bin 1 10ºC
ZWO EAF autofocuser
Losmandy GM811G mount
Auto-guided, Askar off-axis guider, ZWO ASI174MM Mini guide camera
ZWO ASIAir Plus controller
Processed in Astro Pixel Processor, Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop