The Jellyfish Nebula is the remnant of a supernova explosion 8,000 years ago in the constellation of Gemini.  Energetic shock waves from the supernova excite hydrogen within the molecular cloud, creating lattice-like filaments of luminosity.  The combined magnitude of the nebula is +3.7 and is near the bright star Eta Geminorum, a  spectroscopic binary with the primary star being a semi-irregular variable (3.15 to 3.9 magnitude).  Eta Geminorum is a Red Giant located 350 light-years from Earth. The supernova that formed the nebula occurred approximately 30,000 years ago and also created a remnant neutron star. 

IMAGE DETAILS:

• Date & Location:  December 18, 2009 (early am) - Bernville, PA

• Weather:  Calm wind, 22F.

• Sky Conditions:  Scattered Cirrus with above average transparency.  . 

• Optics:  TeleVue NP101is Refractor with 0.8x TeleVue Reducer = 432mm @ f4.3

• Filter:  Astronomic  EOS clip-in CLS-CCD (Light Pollution Suppression)

• Mount:  Losmandy G-11 equatorial with Gemini V4

• Guiding:  Orion Solitaire w/TeleVue TV60is

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

• Exposure:  69 min (8 x 8 min, 1 x 5 min) @ ISO 800 RAW

• Calibration Frames:  No dark frame subtraction (22F)

• Processing:  Photoshop CS4, Noise Ninja, GradientXTerminator, NIK.

• Comments:  Overall I'm rather pleased with this image.  Some of the light frames were captured between the cirrus clouds with above average transparency and no doubt helped enhance some details of the fainter nebulosity.