NGC 281, the "Pacman Nebula" in Color, Prelim (10-17-09)

OK, this is my first color image with a monochrome camera, the first ever taken with my camera through my scope. It was taken in my own backyard. It is NGC281, a colorful nebula in Cassiopeia. The cluster of blue stars at the center of it lights up the gas surrounding it. Mostly, the glow you see comes from ionized hydrogen (and perhaps nitrogen). That's the red color. But to some extent the nebula reflects blue starlight, so the nebula shows not as red but purplish. Here is the red frame, taken through the H-alpha filter:



Imaging Scope: Orion 80ED & WO 0.8x II (f/6)
Imager: Atik 16
Exposure: 38&21&31x5' (Ha as L, Ha as R, G, B) (7.5 hours total exposure)
Filter: Astronomik 13nm Ha & NII, Meade G & B
Capture Software: Nebulosity 2
Mount: Takahashi EM-10
Guiding Camera: DSI Pro
Guiding Software: PHD
Guiding Scope: Hybrid 60mm f/5
Date: Night of 10-14-09
Location: The Woodlands, TX
Processed with Nebulosity 2, Registar, & Photoshop Elements 7