NGC 7023 was observed 18 October 1794 by William Herschel. It is located about 3.5 degrees south west of Beta Cephei (Alfirk). This is a wonderful example of a reflection nebula. Its unusual structure gave rise to the name, the Iris Nebula. The nebula is illuminated by light for a Mag 6.8 star (HD200775) in its center. The bright blue light seen here is due to light being reflected off dust particles that survived the star’s birth. There are faint hints of red color surrounding the central star. This is evidence of some hydrogen emission taking place. Images of this object frequently capture the dense dust cloud that is resides in.

Optics/mount: 12″ACF 2.7m AP-Reduzer Alt-5
Camera/filters: Atik 11002 Astrodon LRGB
exposure: 12×600″ lum 5×300″ rgb all 1xbin