An unplanned imaging session ...
Saturday, August 15, 2026, was supposed to be an outreach night
at Penn Dixie Fossil Park & Nature Reserve for Stargazing in Hamburg. The event
was cancelled on Friday because of logistical issues and conflicting forecasts.
By Saturday afternoon, of course, the forecast had turned clear. Transparency
was still poor because of wildfire smoke, and an 11% waxing crescent Moon would
set around 9:30 PM, so I quickly searched my target lists for a broadband object
to image. I settled on the dark nebulae B142 and B143, which together form
Barnard’s E Nebula. I usually spend much more time planning an imaging session
with tools like Telescopius, AstroBin, and NINA’s Framing Wizard. This time,
the session was improvised. After collecting the data and processing the image,
I was disappointed with the framing and thought the image was a lost cause. Then
I posted it on our astronomy club’s forum, and several people whose opinions I
trust talked me “off the cliff.” I still think the image would be stronger if the
“E” were more centered, even if that meant giving up B334, B336, and B337 on the
right side. But I also like the contrast between the star colors and the dark
nebulae, and the sheer number of stars in the image is breathtaking. I hope you
enjoy it too.
Image 1: Barnard’s E Nebula
 |
| An image of Barnard's E captured from my backyard on August 15, 2026 with my wide-field deep-sky imaging rig. |
Before getting into the technical details, here is a quick
overview of what Barnard’s E is and why this region is so striking in a
wide-field image.
What is it?
Object type: Dark nebula — Barnard’s E Nebula is
the combination of two dark nebulae, B142 and B143. Together, their shape
resembles the letter E. Dark nebulae are dense interstellar clouds, often
molecular clouds, that block visible light from stars and other background
sources.
Location in sky: Barnard’s E is in the
constellation Aquila, near the bright star Altair. It is one of many deep-sky
gems within the Summer Triangle asterism and is best placed for evening viewing
from June through October. See the finder chart in Image 2.
Distance / size / scale: Estimated distance is about
2,000 light-years from Earth. Barnard’s E spans roughly 30 arcminutes in
apparent size, about the apparent diameter of the Full Moon.
Visual features: Inky black clouds superimposed
on top of a rich field of stars in the heart of the Milky Way.
Why it matters: Dark nebulae are not empty
patches in the sky; they are cold, dense clouds of gas and dust. In their central
regions, gravity can pull material together tightly enough for new stars to
begin forming.
Image 2: Finder chart for Barnard’s E Nebula
Finder Chart for the image of Barnard's E. The red rectangle indicates the field of view of the image.
Prominent Objects in the Field
Object 1: Barnard’s E Nebula is composed of two
dark nebulae, B142 and B143. The “E” is located on the left side of the image. E.
E. Barnard’s catalogue of dark nebulae was published in 1919.
Object 2: On the right side of the image, three faint
dark nebulae are loosely connected. From top right to bottom right, they are B337,
B336, and B334.
Additional details: There are several Lynds’
Dark Nebulae (LDN) on both sides of the image. Lynds’ Catalogue of Dark Nebulae
was published in 1962 by Beverly Lynds.
Image 3: Annotated image of Barnard’s E Nebula
An annotated version of the image of Barnard's E.
Imaging Details
· Capture dates: August 15, 2026.
- Location: Eden,
NY
- Target: Barnard’s
E Nebula
- Total
integration: 4.73 hours total
- Exposure
breakdown:
- 8/15/2026:
284 subs at 60 sec each
· Gain
= 100, Offset = 50, and Sensor Temp = -10° C
- Filters
/ channels: N/A
- Moon
/ sky conditions:
o 8/15/2026:
Moon 11% waxing crescent, transparency = poor, and seeing = fair/good.
Equipment Used
- Telescope
/ lens: Askar FRA400
- Camera: ZWO
ASI2600MC Pro
- Mount: Sky-Watcher
EQ6-R Pro
- Filters: N/A
- Guiding: ZWO
30 mm Mini Guide Scope / ZWO ASI290MM
- Control
/ acquisition software: N.I.N.A & PHD2
- Other
accessories: PrimaLuceLab Sesto Senso 3 & SvBony 241 Pro
Processing Details
- Calibration
frames: 50 Darks, 50 Flats, & 50 Dark Flats
- Calibration
and integration: All pre-processing was performed in PixInsight
- Background
correction: GraXpert
- Color
Calibration: SPCC
- Deconvolution: BlurXTerminator
- Stretching: Multiscale
Adaptive Stretch
- Noise
reduction: NoiseXTerminator
- Contrast and Saturation: Curves Transformation
- Star processing: Increased star saturation with Curves Transformation. Stars were not removed; a mask was used to protect the background.
- Final
cleanup: Applied contrast adjustments with Curves Transformation
Conclusion
Sometimes images don’t turn out the way you expected. Even
so, the result can still be pleasing and can spark a sense of beauty and wonder
about the cosmos. The contrast between the colorful stars and the inky black
wisps of dark nebulosity makes this image successful in my eyes. I am still struck
by the sheer number of stars in the frame: all of those suns, each likely
surrounded by at least one planet, and possibly more.
