LDN1355 : The Helping Hand and its surroundings

Image Title: LDN1355 : The Helping Hand and its surroundings

Copyright: Credit : French Amateur Collaborative Telescope (FACT)
Members : Louis Leroux-Géré - Cédric De Decker - Lucas Thibaud - Nicolas Fraillon - Cyrille Malo - Paul Grasset - Clément Daniel - Lilian Lbt - Tybr

Date image was taken: December 17, 2023

Location: Multiple location in France

Image Description and Details: This is the very first image from our collaboration. It marks the starting point of the FACT project. No fewer than 9 setups were needed to produce it, using LRGB filters and shooting from September to December 2023 for a total integration time of 61 hours. Because of the very bad weather this autumn, it took 4 months to acquire all datas. All the images were taken from France, in every corner of the country from Bortle 3 and 4 areas.

Located in the Constellation Cassiopeia, LDN 1355, along with the surrounding dark nebulae LDN 1357 and 1358, form an interesting view of a complex of dark gas that appears to look like a helping hand, palm upwards. These nebulae make up part of the arms of our galaxy, and it is within them that low-mass stars are born. Also in the framing is a blue reflection nebula, VdB 9, illuminated by the star SU Cas in the center. Another nebula of the same type, VdB 7 with a red/orange tint, surrounds a variable star RZ Cas. Finally, VdB 8, the blue jet on the left of the image, is also a reflection nebula.

Equipment Details: Askar FRA300 Pro · Askar FRA400 · Orion 8" f/5 Newtonian · Orion N 150/750 · Takahashi FSQ-85ED · William Optics Gran Turismo 71 / GT71

Player One Poseidon-M Pro · RisingCam IMX571 · ZWO ASI1600MM Pro · ZWO ASI2600MC DUO · ZWO ASI2600MC Pro · ZWO ASI294MM Pro · ZWO ASI533MC Pro

Celestron Advanced VX · Sky-Watcher AZ-EQ6 GT · Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro · Sky-Watcher HEQ5 PRO · ZWO AM5

Website or Facebook Profile: https://www.instagram.com/equipe_fact