DETAILS
Exposure: 6×1200″ @ ISO 800
Telescope: William Optics Megrez 88FD with Borg DG-L
Filter: Baader H-alpha 7nm 2″
Mount: Skywatcher EQ6 Pro
Camera: Modded Canon 350D in cooler box
Date: 13th and 14th June 2009
Location: Cabrera de Mar (suburban site near Barcelona, Spain)
Comments: A test of the performance of the cooled DLSR with H-alpha filter

A large area of emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus, close to Deneb, and divided from its brighter, larger neighbor, the North America Nebula, by a molecular cloud filled with dark dust. The Pelican is much studied because it has a highly active mix of star formation and evolving gas clouds. The light from young energetic stars is slowly transforming cold gas to hot and causing an ionization front gradually to advance outward. Particularly dense filaments of cold gas are seen to still remain. Millions of years from now this nebula might no longer be known as the Pelican, as the balance and placement of stars and gas will leave something that appears completely different. It is about 1800 light-years away.