RCW 32

Constellation: Vela

RCW 32 (a.k.a. Gum 15) is an H-II region in the constellation of Vela. It is lopcated about 3’000 Ly from Earth. The bright star ( a double star) in the center of the nebula is HD74804. The signal from this nebula consists mainly of Ha and [S-II], with very little [O-III]. The irregular appearance of RCW 32 is not unusual for a H-II region and is the result of the stars within it. The forked dark patch of obscuring dust visible in the centre of this image is the Dark nebula DNeb G261.53+0.91.  Link to interactive sky chart.

The image on the left is based upon the RGB data alone. It shows a blueish reflection nebula within the core of RCw 32.

Telescope & Mount:

Planewave CDK14 on a Paramount MX mount.

Imaging:

Camera: Player One Zeus-Mono (bin 2×2)

Data:
Ha: 58x900s
O3: 51x900s
S2: 44x900s

Stars:
Red: 60x120s
Green: 43x120s
Blue: 60x120s

Total integration time: 43h 41′