NGC 7000 / IC 5070
North America and Pelican Nebulae
A hydrogen-rich coastline in Cygnus
The North America and Pelican Nebulae make one of the classic wide-field regions in Cygnus. Dark dust divides the glowing hydrogen clouds into familiar shapes, while the surrounding Milky Way star field gives the whole image a sense of depth.
This frame is built around scale. The narrowband data lets the coastline-like edges, dark lanes, and soft interior glow stand apart without losing the feeling of a huge cloud complex.
- What am I looking at?
- The North America Nebula and Pelican Nebula are two glowing hydrogen clouds in Cygnus. The dark lane between them gives the North America Nebula its continent-like outline.
- How far away is it?
- About 2,600 light-years away.
- Where is it in the sky?
- High in the summer Milky Way, near Deneb in Cygnus.
- Why does it matter?
- A classic widefield narrowband target that shows how dust lanes sculpt bright emission nebulae.
- When is the best time to photograph it?
- Summer nights when Cygnus rides overhead for northern observers.
Capture summary
Nebula in Cygnus
6 days in 2022 / Moon 37%
Ha, OIII, SII
Summer target / wide composition
- R 20m 20 x 60s / 21 Oct 2022 / Moon 17%
- G 20m 20 x 60s / 21 Oct 2022 / Moon 17%
- B 20m 20 x 60s / 21 Oct 2022 / Moon 17%
- H-alpha 5h 10m 62 x 300s / 8-9 Oct 2022 / Moon 99%
- SII 2h 25m 29 x 300s / 21 Oct 2022 / Moon 17%
- OIII 7h 40m 92 x 300s / 3 days in 2022 / Moon 21%
- Totals 16h 15m 6 days in 2022 / Moon 37%
When to image this target
Nebula in Cygnus; best planned for June through August from New Jersey.
Summer targets often improve later at night as the Milky Way climbs higher.
Assumes a New Jersey backyard horizon and evening imaging.
Emission nebulae are good candidates for narrowband filters; reflection nebulae prefer darker skies.
NGC 7000 / IC 5070 is listed here in Cygnus.
Current frame: Narrowband / Ha, OIII, SII.
Live altitude, moon, and filter guidance
Calculating target altitude and moon context.
Use the full planner to enter a ZIP code, choose a date, and compare the target from your sky.
Based on the current time.
Green marks usable dark-sky altitude.
Next upper transit.
Approximate horizon crossing.
Moon phase and altitude.
Acquisition & processing notes
Filter channels, integration times, and capture dates for this frame. View on AstroBin.
- R 20 x 60s, 20m, 21 Oct 2022, Moon 17%
- G 20 x 60s, 20m, 21 Oct 2022, Moon 17%
- B 20 x 60s, 20m, 21 Oct 2022, Moon 17%
- H-alpha 62 x 300s, 5h 10m, 8-9 Oct 2022, Moon 99%
- SII 29 x 300s, 2h 25m, 21 Oct 2022, Moon 17%
- OIII 92 x 300s, 7h 40m, 3 days in 2022, Moon 21%
- Totals 16h 15m, 6 days in 2022, Moon 37%
How I captured this
| Channel | Frames | Time | Moon |
|---|---|---|---|
| R | 20 x 60s | 20m | 17% |
| G | 20 x 60s | 20m | 17% |
| B | 20 x 60s | 20m | 17% |
| H-alpha | 62 x 300s | 5h 10m | 99% |
| SII | 29 x 300s | 2h 25m | 17% |
| OIII | 92 x 300s | 7h 40m | 21% |
| Totals | — | 16h 15m | 37% |
- Equipment used
- From my current rig
- Mount
- iOptron CEM60
- Telescope
- Explore Scientific FCD100 127mm Carbon Fiber Triplet APO
- Camera
- ZWO ASI2600MM Pro
- Filters
- Chroma 36mm Ha, OIII, SII, and LRGB (ZWO EFW 7×36mm)
- Focuser / rotator
- MoonLite NiteCrawler
- Reducer
- Starizona Apex ED 0.65×
- Guiding
- ZWO off-axis guider + ASI290MM Mini
- Control / power
- PrimaLuceLab Eagle 4S, Powerwerx PSU, Bioenno field battery, and MEGAbox
