NGC 7000 – The North America Nebula in Deep HOO

Image Title: The California Nebula

Copyright: Jeffrey Horn

Date image was taken: January 01, 2026

Location: Nashville, TN

Data Acquisition Method: Personal Telescope Setup

Description and Details: Taken over the course of 35 nights, this is 193 hours of integration time from my Bortle 8.5 backyard in Nashville, TN.

The California Nebula is strong in H-alpha signal, so trying to bring out the fainter structures can be a challenge. As usual, I’m using a “time is the filter” approach…imaging from heavily light-polluted backyard is basically a commitment to patience (even with strong filters), but with enough time, you can get a good amount of signal.

If you zoom in, there’s a surprising amount of complexity beyond the obvious emission: darker pockets, interesting texture, and layered structure that gives it a bit of depth (I think it looks like ocean waves, which is fitting.)

Acquisition Details:
Total integration: 193h 14m

Integration per filter:
- R: 36m (36 × 60")
- G: 35m (35 × 60")
- B: 33m (33 × 60")
- Hα: 50h 10m (602 × 300")
- SII: 50h (600 × 300")
- OIII: 91h 20m (1096 × 300")

Equipment:
- Telescope: Askar 120APO
- Camera: ZWO ASI2600MM Pro
- Mount: ZWO AM5
- Filters: Antlia 3nm Narrowband H-alpha 2", Antlia 3nm Narrowband Sulfur II 2", Astronomik Deep-Sky Blue 2", Astronomik Deep-Sky Green 2", Astronomik Deep-Sky Red 2", Chroma OIII 3nm Bandpass 2"
- Accessories: Askar 0.8x Full Frame Reducer / Flattener for 120APO Telescope, ZWO ASIAIR Plus, ZWO EAF, ZWO EFW 7 x 2″
- Software: Adobe Photoshop, Aries Productions Astro Pixel Processor (APP), Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight, ZWO ASIAIR

Name: Jeffrey Horne

Website or Facebook Profile: http://instagram.com/jeffreyhorne