Canon 350D Hap Griffin Baader Mod
37x180sec at iso 1600
30 Darks/Flats/Bias
APM/TMB 130/780 with APM Field Flattener

NGC 7129 (left) and open star cluster NGC 7142 lie in the constellation Cepheus. The two appear separated by only half a degree on the sky, but they actually lie at quite different distances from earth. In the foreground, nebula NGC 7129 is about 3,000 light-years distant, while open cluster NGC 7142 is likely over 6,000 light-years away. The foreground dust clouds in this region redden the light from NGC 7142, complicating astronomical studies of the cluster. Still, NGC 7142 is thought to be an older open star cluster, while the bright stars embedded in NGC 7129 are perhaps a million years young. The telltale reddish crescent shapes around NGC 7129 are associated with energetic jets streaming away from newborn stars.

Look closely at the top left edge of NGC 7142 and see the small spiral galaxy PGC 97261 as a sliver at magnitude 16.4.

September 1, 2008