NGC 7023 Iris Nebula
NGC 7023, also known as the Iris Nebula because of its flower-like shape, is a bright reflection nebula. The bluish glow of the nebula comes from a hot, massive star at the center of the nebula, named HD 200775. Blue light from the star is scattered off dust grains in the nebula, giving it its distinctive color. The dust can also be seen on the outer portions of the nebula, where it has a faint brownish color and blocks out stars behind it.
| Observatory: | Kitt Peak National Observatory Kitt Peak, Arizona |
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| Telescope: | KPNO 4-Meter |
| Instrument: | Mosaic I |
| Astronomer: | T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage) and H. Schweiker (WIYN and NOAO/AURA/NSF) |
| Date of Observation: | 08-29-2009 |
| Filters and Assigned Colors: | B (blue), V (green), I (orange) and Hydrogen-Alpha (red) |
| Exposure Times: | 5x10min in B and H-alpha, 5x7min in V and 5x5min in I |
| Location of Image: | Cepheus |
| Field of View: | 24.1 x 22.1 arcmin |
| Orientation: | Rotated 30 degrees CCW from North is up, East is to the left |
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