The Cone Nebula visible at the base of the red emission nebula is just a small part of a vast star-forming region 2,600 light years distant in the constellation of Monoceros.  The red glow arises from clouds of hydrogen gas that are excited by the ultraviolet light of nearby young stars.  Above the Cone Nebula is a loose triangular cluster of stars known as the Christmas Tree Cluster.  Interstellar dust reflects light of the brightest stars in the cluster, glowing blue, at the edge of the Foxfur Nebula.

IMAGE DETAILS:

• Date & Location:  January 10, 2010 - Bernville, PA

• Weather:  Calm wind, 16F.

• Sky Conditions:  Clear with above average transparency. 

• Optics:  TeleVue NP101is Refractor w/0.8x TeleVue reducer (432mm -f/4.3).

• Filter:  Hutech IDAS-LPS (Light Pollution Suppression)

• Mount:  Losmandy G-11 equatorial with Gemini V4

• Guiding:  Orion Solitaire w/TeleVue NP101is

• Camera:  Canon T1i (500D) Hap Griffin Modified - Baader UV/IR

• Exposure:  70 min (3 x 8 min, 3 x 9 min, 1 x 10) @ ISO 800

• Calibration Frames:  No Camera Darks - 16F

• Processing:  Photoshop CS4, Noise Ninja, Noel Carboni Tools, NIK 

• Comments:  This is my second image and was captured at a slightly higher magnification, better sky conditions, and with a colder ambient temperature.  Colors are a bit more saturated and more detail can be seen in the Cone as well as the  FoxFur region above the blue nebulosity.