This emission around Sadr (including the Butterfly and Crescent nebulae), was captured by Imran Sultan from Bortle Class 8-9 city skies in narrowband, a filter that allows astronomers to isolate particular emission lines of gasses in astronomical objects. The Bortle Class scale measures the brightness of the night sky, with 8-9 signifying that the sky is brilliantly lit and celestial objects are less visible. Sadr is a star in the northern constellation of Cygnus that forms the intersection of a pattern of five stars called the Northern Cross. Sultan, who practices astrophotography in his free time, is a graduate student in CIERA Professor Claude-Andre Faucher-Giguere’s group. In 2023, Sultan’s photo of the Western Veil Nebula and the Flower Moon won first place and runner-up respectively in the astronomy category of the Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition. This photo was taken with ZWO ASI533MC Pro, Samyang 135mm f/2 at f/2.8, Optolong L-Ultimate 2″ filter, and Star Adventurer GTi, ZWO 30mm f/4 guide scope, ASI120MM Mini guide camera, ASIAIR Pro.
Credit: Imran Sultan/Northwestern/CIERA
- Science