Fun facts
IC 2177 is a region of nebulosity that lies along the border between the constellations Monoceros and Canis Major. It is a roughly circular HII region centered on the Be star HD 53367. This nebula was discovered by Welsh amateur astronomer Isaac Roberts and was described by him as “pretty bright, extremely large, irregularly round, very diffuse.”
The name Seagull Nebula is sometimes applied by amateur astronomers to this emission region, although it more properly includes the neighboring regions of star clusters, dust clouds and reflection nebulae. This latter region includes the open clusters NGC 2335 and NGC 2343. NGC 2327 is located in IC 2177. It is also known as the Seagull’s Head, due to its larger presence in the Seagull nebula.
Other Catalog Designations: GUM 1, IC 2177, Sh2-292
Subtype: Reflection Nebula
Distance from Earth: 3650 light years
Visual Magnitude: 6.97
Constellation: Monoceros
Capture Notes
This image was “first light” with the ZWO ASI2400MC and Askar FRA600 on the Rainbow Astro RC-135E – the Southern Cross (so named for its purpose to travel (on aircraft vs in the Beast) to the Southern Hemisphere). After struggling with power cables for a month after receiving the new ZWO ASI2400MC imaging camera, I was finally in the position to run both the ASI2400MC and the RC-135E mount. We had a clear night before I need to leave for our DAF SAB DOT study panel trip to Edwards AFB. I had planned to shoot Thor’s Helmet with Big Zeus, but decided that I should learn what was required to attach and focus the ASI2400 to the Askar FRA600 before I got to the dark skies location with something missing to complete the set-up. It took a little bit during the middle of the day to assemble the attachment and figure out how to get the light pollution filter into the imaging train. But once everything was set up, it didn’t take too long to achieve focus and get going with the imagining.
Equipment
Polar alignment: QHYCCD camera (controlled by Polemaster)
Imaging stream: Askar FRA600, Canon EOS Ra with Optolong LeXtreme light pollution filter
Mount: Rainbow Astro RC-135E (controlled by iHubo)
Autoguider: Orion 60mm Multi-Use Guide Scope, Orion StarShoot AutoGuider Pro Mono Astrophotography Camera (controlled by PHD2)
All equipment controlled by HP Probook running Sequence Generator Pro v3.2.0.660.
Capture & processing notes
Sequence plans: Gain: 158, Temp: -0°C, no offset. 63x5min. Total exposure time: 5:15hrs. Captured 10Feb2023, 1933MST – 11Feb2023, 0110MST.
Capture: 10 February 2023
Shooting location: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Processing: Stacked in APP, processed in LR/PS.