IC 4628 (Prawn Nebula)

This is an object I have imaged twice over the years, both times during a stay at the Tivoli Astrofarm in Namibia. IC 4628, also known as the Prawn Nebula, is a vast emission nebula located in the constellation Scorpius, near the bright open cluster NGC 6231. The region is part of a large star-forming complex along the Milky Way’s central band and displays intricate structures of glowing hydrogen gas illuminated by nearby hot, young stars.

The last time I imaged this beautiful nebula was in 2008, again under the pristine southern skies of Namibia. Data calibration and registration were done with DeepSkyStacker, while the final image processing was completed in PixInsight.

Besides the Prawn nebula you can find the open cluster NGC 6242 top left.

The images were taken with the following equipment:

• Date 2006
• Location: Tivoli, Namibia
• Telescope: Pentax 75
• Focal length [mm]: 500
• Focal ratio: 6.7
• Mount: Vixen Atlux
• Camera: Canon 300 Da
• Filter: OSC
• Exposure time [min]: 64
• Resolution: 3.04″/px

The first time I imaged this open cluster and nebula in 2005. Data calibration and registration was done with DeepSkystacker, the final processing was done with PixInsight. The result was as follows:

The images were taken with the following equipment:

• Date 2005
• Location: Hakos, Namibia
• Telescope: Tamron 28-300 mm
• Focal length [mm]: 300
• Focal ratio: 6.3
• Mount: Liebscher
• Camera: Canon 300 Da
• Filter: OSC
• Exposure time [min]: 24
• Resolution: 5.4″/px