NGC 4361

5 minutes exposure, Meade 416xt CCD.
8" f/6 newtonian at prime focus.

NGC 4361 is a very nice planetary nebula in Corvus. It is visible in a small telescope and in an 8" telescope appears as a pale disc, slightly darker in the centre. The central star is faint but is visible in a 12" telescope.

Combination of 10, 3 minute xposures using H-alpha and Sulphur II filters,
and 5, 3 minute exposures using an Oxygen III filter.
SBIG ST-8XE CCD. 300mm f/6 newtonian telescope at prime focus.

The image above has been compiled using the H-alpha images for the red channel, the Sulphur II images for the green channel and the Oxygen III images for the blue channel. For most objects I find that this gives a good result. In the image below, the H-alpha and Sulphur III channels have been reversed, so green is the H-alpha. This rendition shows the faint outer envelope of the planetary better.