ROAST ::

August 23, a very clear night (and it looks like the last for a while) with a flower.

This is C 4, the Iris Nebula in Cepheus:

It’s a reflection nebula 1,300 light years away and 6 light years across, illuminated by the central star HD 200775.

Surrounding the bluish nebula are complex brownish clouds of interstellar material. These are of interest because they have been found to contain buckminsterfullerene, a large organic molecule consisting of 60 carbon atoms arranged in a sphere (it looks much like the panels in a football).

The surrounding clouds are faint and difficult to image, and more exposures would bring them out better.

The bright reddish star at top left is T Cephei, a very large red giant which would engulf the orbit of Mars if it was placed where the Sun is. It’s a Mira-class variable star with a period of 385 days, varying between magnitude 11.3 (invisible to the eye) and 5.2 (just visible) — here it’s about 7.3 and is approaching its next maximum brightness in November 2026.

Details:
Target: C 4 (Iris Nebula, NGC 7023)
Equipment: Dwarf Mini, Astro filter, perfect EQ
Time: 2026-08-23 21:25-23:57
Integration: 2hrs 18mins (138×60secs, +2 failures), gain 60
Conditions: Clear, Bortle 6
Processing: PhotoDesk equalisation, gamma, usm

And so to bed…