LBN 777, the Baby Eagle Nebula (Fall 2015)

This very dim nebula is part of the same Taurus clouds of dust and gas that are also lit up by the nearby Pleiades.  The gas and dust is probably about the same distance as the Pleiades themselves, around 440 light years.  Just what lights up the Baby Eagle Nebula is unclear, however.

I've always wanted an image of this part of the cloud, but obtaining the data is not possible from the city.  I once took a >10-minute sub and had to equalize the result to even see the eagle head shape; of course, that would not make a pretty image.  But the scope at DSW can bag these obscure photons without interference from city sky glow.  Even then, the DSW scope has to spend long hours on the sky.  Just the Lum here is 10.75 hours.  The time spent on this object is 43;32;34;34 (LRGB) x 900 seconds, for a grand total of 35.75 hours at f/5!  Below is a B&W version of the Baby Eagle (also called the Vulture Head Nebula) using just the Lum subs.