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Abell 70 (Aquila)

Object image
Fig.1 - Cosmic superposition of two objects with diamond-ring effect: The planetary nebula Abell 70 (PK 038-25.1) and the galaxy PGC 187663 in Aquila, photographed with a 16-inch f/4.5 Dob on an equatorial platform.
Object name: Constellation: Coordinates: Apparent size: Visual brightness:
Abell 70 (PK 038-25.1) Aquila 20h32m / -07°05' 1.1' x 0.3' 14.3 mag (?)

The planetary nebula Abell 70 (PK 038-25.1) in the constellation Aquila. Abell 70 is 13,500 - 17,500 light-years from Earth, approaching us at 79 kilometers per second and expanding 38 kilometers per second. The galaxy PGC 187663 (PMN J2033-0656) is shining through the cloud of gas of Abell 70, giving it a diamond ring effect. Abell 70 was discovered by George Abell in 1955 (source: Wikipedia).

Forty-three 3-minute exposures (129 minutes total exposure) at ISO 800, taken on August 24 / 25, 2019 and on August 26 / 27, 2019, were added for this shot with the DeepSkyStacker software and the final image processing was done in Photoshop.

Equipment: Canon EOS 450D Baader modified camera, TeleVue Paracorr Type II coma corrector, 16" f/4.5 "Ninja" dobsonian telescope riding on a dual-axis Tom Osypowski equatorial platform, Lacerta MGEN autoguider, Lacerta off axis system (field of view comparison: image of the moon with the same equipment).

Satellite streaks
Fig.2 - Elon Musk sending his kindest regards! During the two hour exposure time at least 32 Starlink satellites crossed the 24 x 36 arc minutes field of view featuring Abell 70. The satellites are part of the first batch of 60 satellites that were launched in May 2019. Approximately 42,000 satellites will be deployed within the next few years.
Search chart
Fig.3 - Search chart for Abell 70. Map © 2021 "The Mag-7 Star Atlas Project", www.siaris.net. Map is slightly modified. The map can be downloaded here.
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