NGC 3324 and IC 2599
Constellation: Carina
NGC 3324 is an open cluster in the constellation of Carina. It is associated with the emission nebula IC 2599, also known as Gum 31 and the Gabriela Mistral nebula. The open cluster is 9’100 Ly from earth. Link to interactive sky chart.
Dates:
This is derived from the outstanding data taken by Martin Pugh during the month of April 2023 (Martin’s website: Remote Astrophotography with Martin Pugh (martinpughastrophotography.space).
His telescope is located in Chile (Observatory: El Sauce).
Colour palette is SHO.
Telescope & Mount:
Planewave CDK24 (F6.5) on a Planewave L600 mount.
Imaging:
Camera: Moravian G3-61000 (bin 2×2)
Data:
Nebula:
Astrodon Ha: 9x900s
Astrodon O3: 15x900s
Astrodon S2: 14x900s
Total integration time: 9h 30′
NGC 3324 using the data from the James Webb Space Telescope
The image above was build using the publicly available data from the JWST. The second image shows the area of the main image corresponding to the JWST image.
I mapped the filters to the following colours:
f444w-f470n → Red
f335m → Green
f200w → Green-Blue
f187n → Green-Blue
f090w → Blue
Below is a widefiled view around IC 2599, containing NGC 3293 to the northwest. The image also shows Gum32/RCW52 to the southeast, as well as the northern region of the wider eta-Carina nebula.
Dates:
Data acquired remotely between March and April 2023 using Martin’s equipment. The image consists of three panes.
His telescope is located in Australia (Observatory: Heaven’s second mirror, NSW).
Colour palette is HSO.
Telescope & Mount:
SharpStar 140mm (F4.8) on a Software Bisque Paramount ME II mount.
Imaging:
Camera: SBIG STXL16200, FW8G
Data:
Antlia Ha: 57x600s
Antlia O3: 54x600s
Antlia S2: 59x600s
Total integration time: 28h 20′