The North America Nebula is a very large emission nebula, resembling North America, in Cygnus near the star Deneb. Here you can see a large section of the nebula. You can also see parts of the Pelican Nebula on the right side.
This one was a bit of a last minute challenge. Saturday night’s forecast called for a few hours of clear skies before clouds moved in so I thought I’ve give a quick try at the North America Nebula. The first 10 pictures seemed to be going well, then I noticed my telescope lens had a light coating of dew forming. I got my dew heaters installed and within a short bit the dew was cleared up, but I didn’t know if that would mess up those images too much.
I kept snapping more pictures for a while, then noticed those clouds moving in. I ended up with about 2 hours of exposure time, but wasn’t sure if I had enough good images to stack a nice quality image. Much to my surprise my final image turned out pretty good.
I probably should have kept the camera oriented as it was originally, but I turned it 90° after the first image, not realizing I’d cut off the lower section that continues to outline the apparent Gulf of Mexico. The full Pelican Nebula would be another fun target if I get a clear night with little moonlight.