The Cygnus Rift

The Cygnus Rift - 365 hrs This image showcases the dark area between the North America Nebula and the Pelican Nebula. It is often imaged collaterally while imaging the North America Nebula and/or the Pelican Nebula, but it’s not often considered the “main attraction” of an image. I wanted to get some really deep data on this area, and see what faint nebulosity would present itself. This is my first image taken with the Askar 120 APO, and I couldn’t be more pleased with this scope. I captured ~306 hours of narrowband data from my Bortle 8.5 sky in Nashville, TN, and my friend @Drew Evans contributed ~60 hrs of broadband data from his Bortle 1 backyard outside of Flagstaff, AZ. (One of the things I love about Drew is that he is always pumped to collaborate…his “LET’S FREAKING GO” attitude is incredible.) We were really hoping to see some brighter RGB dust in these dark areas, and there is some, but it is incredibly faint. I’ve really enjoyed the longer focal length of the Askar 120 APO. I’d been imaging at 180mm for the last several years, and to move up into the 600-800mm focal range is really fun. (Imaging at a proper pixel scale, finally, made a noticeable improvement in image quality.) I’m looking forward to getting more deep images with this scope.

• Fujicolor Crystal Archive Professional Lustre Paper
• 210gsm
• Vibrant, fine-grain pebble texture
• Archival: 100+ years on display, 200+ years in storage
• Silver halide, RA-4 wet printing process
• Sizing: White borders do not change size of the print