Fossil Footprint

NGC 1491, also known as LBN 704, SH2-206 or the Fossil Footprint Nebula, is an emission type bright nebula located about 9,800 light years away from Earth in the constellation of Perseus. It was discovered on 23 December 1790 by William Herschel. The nebula gets its deep red coloration due to many massive stars (such as BD+50 866) embedded within NGC 1491 producing large amounts of ultraviolet radiation and ionizing the hydrogen gas that makes up the nebula.

Data for this image was gathered from 7 sessions between 2025-09-24 and 2025-11-13.
Data for this image: 70x300s S-II, 70x300s Ha, 66x300s O-III.
Total number of exposures 206 with a total integration time of 17 hours.
Processing: PixInsight with SHO palette with synthetic RGB stars.
Equipment: SkyWatcher EvoStar 80ED Pro (0,85x FR/FF) and Player One Poseidon-M Pro on SkyWatcher HEQ5 Pro with SkyWatcher EvoGuide 50ED and ZWO ASI120MM Mini. Player One SII, Ha, and OIII filters. Location: 63 degrees north with a bortle 4 sky.

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