APOD: 2022 November 30 - The Light, the Dark, and the Dusty

Good morning, Rallypoint, and welcome to the November 30th Hump Day edition of Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD): "The Light, the Dark, and the Dusty." The Cave Nebula (aka Sharpless 155) lies 2,400 light years away near the northern constellation Cepheus. The ionized hydrogen that dominates this region is produced by the many young stars that surround it. Several dark nebulas cataloged by astronomer Beverly Lynds are also present (LDN 524, 1215, and 1216 are right of center). The 'feathery' features throughout this image are produced by dusty clouds reflecting the available light sources.

The photographer's notes report an astounding 1,153 exposures of 120 seconds each to produce this single composite image. The associated gear used to collect and process the initial data was also listed:

Imaging Telescope: Sky-Watcher Quattro 250P / 10-S
Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC Pro
Mount: Losmandy G11 / G11G
Guiding Telescope: ZWO 60mm guide scope
Guiding Camera: ZWO ASI120MM Mini
Software: Adobe Photoshop · AstroSharp Ltd SharpCap · Open PHD Guiding Project PHD2 · Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight · Russell Croman Astrophotography NoiseXTerminator · Russell Croman Astrophotography StarXTerminator