The Iris Nebula
The Iris Nebula is a beautiful, blue reflection nebula in the constellation Cepheus. Cataloged as NGC 7023, this deep-sky object is a superb choice for your camera and telescope.
If you haven’t photographed a reflection nebula before, you are in for a real treat. The dust and reflected light associated with the Iris Nebula are unlike other nebulae types such as emission and planetary.
NGC 7023 – The Iris Nebula
The Iris Nebula (NGC 7023) is a prime example of how beautiful reflection nebulae can be. I was only able to capture a little over an hour of exposure on this one, and you can just start to see the dark clouds showing up. Hopefully, I will get some more time on this object this Friday, if the weather clears up.
This image was captured using my 80mm telescope and a stock Canon Rebel Xsi DSLR camera. The camera was connected to the telescope using a t-ring and adapter, a technique called prime focus astrophotography. This is the preferred method of shooting deep sky astrophotography using a DSLR camera.
This nebula is a fantastic choice for beginners, as it can be captured at nearly any focal length using the right astrophotography equipment. I recommend going after this one using a color camera, and a refractor telescope in the 400-500mm range to reveal the incredible dusty regions of space surrounding the object.
The Iris Nebula was one of the many deep sky objects I observed with Fraser Cain during our live virtual star party in August of 2018. You can watch the full video here.
View the rest of my astrophotography images in the photo gallery.
This particular deep-sky object can be difficult to process, largely due to all of the dim dust surrounding the bright core of the Iris. I have put together a step-by-step image processing tutorial in Adobe Photoshop for anyone interested in getting the most amount of detail out of this object.
Helpful Resources:
- The Best Astrophotography Telescopes (2023)
- How Much Does a Telescope Cost?
- Building a Deep-Sky Astrophotography Kit From The Ground Up
