A later Pacman Nebula frame with sculpted hydrogen structure and a strong central cluster.
This frame remains part of the Lost Photons archive.
- What am I looking at?
- The Pacman Nebula is an emission nebula whose round shape and dark lane resemble the video-game character.
- How far away is it?
- About 9,500 light-years away.
- Where is it in the sky?
- In Cassiopeia, in the rich star fields of the autumn Milky Way.
- Why does it matter?
- A popular narrowband target with a distinctive silhouette and embedded star cluster.
- When is the best time to photograph it?
- Autumn when Cassiopeia is high overhead.
Capture summary
Nebula in Cassiopeia
Ha, OIII, SII
Ha, OIII, SII
Winter target / wide composition
- Chroma 36mm Ha 5nm 4h 15m 51 x 300s
- Chroma 36mm Oiii 5nm 2h 10m 26 x 300s
- Chroma 36mm Sii 5nm 2h 35m 31 x 300s
- Totals 9h
Same target, different years.
Older revisions stay in the archive so you can see how the target changed with different equipment, processing, and experience.
When to image this target
Nebula in Cassiopeia; best planned for December through February from New Jersey.
Winter targets reward clear, steady nights and usually climb well by late evening.
Assumes a New Jersey backyard horizon and evening imaging.
Emission nebulae are good candidates for narrowband filters; reflection nebulae prefer darker skies.
NGC 281 is listed here in Cassiopeia.
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.
- Chroma 36mm Ha 5nm 51 x 300s, 4h 15m
- Chroma 36mm Oiii 5nm 26 x 300s, 2h 10m
- Chroma 36mm Sii 5nm 31 x 300s, 2h 35m
- Totals 9h
Field notes for this target.
Browse all capture notesHow I captured this
| Channel | Frames | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Chroma 36mm Ha 5nm | 51 x 300s | 4h 15m |
| Chroma 36mm Oiii 5nm | 26 x 300s | 2h 10m |
| Chroma 36mm Sii 5nm | 31 x 300s | 2h 35m |
| Totals | — | 9h |
- 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
