Abell 39 from my own backyard

In 2011, I captured a series of images of the planetary nebula Abell 39, located in the constellation Hercules. This remarkable object is one of the most perfectly spherical planetary nebulae known — a nearly flawless, faint blue shell of ionized gas expanding into space around its dying central star. Its symmetry and isolation make it a fascinating target for astrophotography, though its low surface brightness presents a real challenge.

The data calibration and registration were carried out using DeepSkyStacker, while the final image processing was completed in PixInsight.

The images were taken with the following equipment:

• Location: Krefeld, Germany
• Telescope: 10″ Orion Newton
• Focal length [mm]: 1200
• Focal ratio: 4.8
• Mount: Skywatcher NEQ6
• Camera: Canon 500Da
• Filter: OSC
• Exposure time [min]: 516
• Resolution: 1.58″/px