Lorenzo Comolli's Astronomy HomePage

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Eta Carinae Nebula is one of the most famous of the Southern Sky because of its brightness. It is easily visible at naked eye even a few degrees above the horizon! And it is very large.
This image was gathered in unfavourable conditions because August is the worst month for its imaging. This image was obtained at an "average" altitude of only 9°!!! I can only imagine the show high in the sky. Moreover this night showed a little bit of haze below 10° altitude, so the light was much absorbed and reddened.

Technical data
Optics	Pentax 75 apo refractor
Focal Length	500 mm
Focal Ratio	f/6.7
Exposure Time	50 min (single exp of 10 min)
CCD	Canon EOS 5D with Baader filter
Sensitivity	800 ISO
Location	Tivoli Farm (Namibia) at 1350 m height
Date	28 August 2011
Mount	Kenko NES
Tracking	Lodestar with a small refractor (F.L. 100 mm, aperture 23 mm)
Temperature and humidity	T= +15°C, RH=27%
Sky brightness at zenith (with SQM-L)	21.6 mag/arcsec^2 (MW at zenith)
Notes	This image is a collaborative effort of the Namibia 2011 expedition. Processing: Lorenzo Comolli. Images by: Lorenzo Comolli, Luigi Fontana, Giosuè Ghioldi, Emmanuele Sordini.