The California Nebula (NGC 1499) is an emission nebula located in the constellation Perseus. It is so named because it appears to resemble the outline of the US State of California on long exposure photographs. It is almost 2.5° long on the sky and, because of its very low surface brightness, it is extremely difficult to observe visually. It can be observed with a Hβ filter (isolates the Hβ line at 486 nm) in a rich-field telescope under dark skies. It lies at a distance of about 1,000 light years from Earth
Integration: 9.5 hours
Imaging telescopes or lenses: Takahashi TSA 102
Imaging cameras: Starlight Express SXVR-H18
Mounts: Sky-Watcher NEQ6 Pro
Guiding telescopes or lenses: Takahashi TSA 102
Guiding cameras: sx loadstar
Focal reducers: Takahashi TOA/FS Reducer
Software: Sequence Generator Pro, PHD, Photoshop CS5
Filters: Baader O III 8.5nm, Baader Ha 8.5nm
Accessories: Starlight Xpress USB filter wheel, Baader Planetarium 36mm narrowband filters
