ROAST ::

June 8/9, and at last a couple of hours of clear sky. We’re approaching the solstice now, and observing is limited to between 11pm and 3am or so.

I started with a perfect EQ alignment just before 11pm, and aimed the scope at the star Sadr, the central star in Cygnus, when it finally moved out from behind a tree. On the right is the view to the east at about 11:00 pm; Sadr is the star under the “g” of “Cygnus”, and it’s in the centre of a large area of nebulosity known as the Gamma Cygni Nebula, the Sadr Region, or IC 1318.

Below is the result of the session. Sadr itself is the fairly bright (magnitude 2.2) star in the centre of the image.

The small group of stars at top centre is the Inchworm Cluster, NGC 6910.

The long dark lane at lower left is the “body” of the Butterfly Nebula (the Cygnus one — there are a number of similarly named features elsewhere in the sky). The large “wings” are at centre left and (off-screen mostly) bottom left. This area is so large it really needs a mosaic!

It’s interesting to compare my effort with this image, taken with much more expensive equipment.

Details:
Target: Sadr, HD 194093
Time: 2026-06-08 22:50..00:18
Equipment: Dwarf Mini, Duo-Band filter
Integration: 1hr 15mins (150×30secs, 1 failure), gain 60
Conditions: Clear, Bortle 7
Processing: PhotoDesk equalisation, gamma

Just after midnight the Elephant’s Trunk nebula also became visible (that damned tree!); it’s halfway between Cygnus and Cepheus but is technically in Cepheus. I aimed the scope slightly off to get a bit more of the surrounding nebulosity in the picture.

The “Trunk”, or IC 1396A, or Sh2-131 — there are a hell of a lot of these sky catalogues, aren’t there? — is the curly bit at lower right. It’s embedded in the large nebula known as IC 1396, and is being illuminated by the brightest star at centre bottom, HD 206267.

Details:
Target: Elephant’s Trunk Nebula, IC 1396A
Time: 2026-06-09 00:23..01:32
Equipment: Dwarf Mini, Duo-Band filter
Integration: 1hr (120×30secs, 5 failures), gain 60
Conditions: Clear, Bortle 7
Processing: PhotoDesk equalisation, gamma

This is a bit noisy, and would benefit from more exposures. I’ll try it again (skies permitting) and stack them all together.

And so to bed…