Sky and Telescope - June 2017 - 70

IMAGING DUSTY TARGETS

by Richard Jakiel

Phantoms
of
the Deep Sky

S

other elusive targets.

hortly after the turn of this century, a new, highly
photogenic class of deep-sky objects began to draw
the attention of astrophotographers. Amateurs
equipped with fast astrographs and sensitive CCD cameras
noticed that many of the targets they pursued were not surrounded by inky-black skies as they have traditionally been
depicted. Instead, they found that pushing the processing of
their images rewarded them with mottled wisps of gas and
dust often extending many degrees beyond their target's
previously assumed borders.
Known as giant molecular clouds or galactic cirrus,
these faint targets cover vast areas in the night sky at every
season of the year, though revealing them will challenge any
imager's equipment and processing skills.

These large, exceedingly low-contrast targets barely
register above the sky background in long exposures, and
they require a combination of very dark skies and stacking
many long exposures to properly reveal their true extent.
Imagers using modern CCD and DSLR cameras can try their
hand at capturing these phantom nebulae. Many of these
complexes span 10° or more, so a variety of optical systems
can be used to hunt them down. A fast-f/ratio, high-quality
telephoto lens of 100-mm focal length is a good match for
many of these objects. Fast astrographs also work well with
relatively wide fields of view (FOV), while larger instruments
(apertures of 12 inches or more) can record the more exotic
structures of these objects surrounding several well-known
galaxies. Getting enough signal to noise over the sky back-

p DAZZLING COLOR The giant molecular cloud in Ophiuchus includes the colorful region surrounding the multiple star system Rho Ophiuchi as well
as the bright star Antares in Scorpius, whose reflected light produces the yellowish nebulosity in this deep photo.

70

J U N E 2 0 1 7 * SK Y & TELESCOPE

ROGELIO BERNAL ANDREO

Hunt down molecular clouds and



Sky and Telescope - June 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky and Telescope - June 2017

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Sky and Telescope - June 2017 - 1
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