My Astrophotography – NGC 1499 (The California Nebula)

NGC 1499 (The California Nebula)

• The California Nebula
  NGC 1499 is famous primarily because its distinct elongated shape closely resembles the outline of the US State of California, which earned it the widely known nickname “The California Nebula.”
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• Glowing bright red
  It is a huge cloud in space made of gas that glows bright red ~ it glows because its hydrogen gas is ionised by the nearby hot O‑type star Xi Persei (Menkib).
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• Magnitude of about 6.0
  This value appears consistently across major sources, though the nebula is still very hard to see because its light is spread over a huge area (low surface brightness).
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• IC 2005 – a galaxy lurking behind the California Nebula
  IC 2005 is a15th magnitude Elliptical Galaxy appearing in the constellation Perseus ~ it is 279 million light years from our solar system.

• Object Name
  NGC 1499

• Object Type
  Emission Nebula

• Constellation
  Perseus

• Magnitude
  +6.0

• Distance
  Around 1,250
  light-years

• Annotated

Telescope:

Mount:

Accessory:

Sky-Watcher Esprint 80ED Triplet

Sky-Watcher AZ-EQ6 GT

ZWO ASIair Plus

Camera:

Guiding:

Filter:

ZWO ASI585MC Pro cooling

ZWO ASI1200MM

2″ Optolong eNchance

Date: Wed 22nd Apr 2026

Moonlit: 33%

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NGC 1499

California Nebula / Sh2-220

Emission Nebulae

+6.0

1,250 light years / 100 light years across

Per (Perseus / The Hero)

04h 03m 16s

+36° 25′ 18″

Enlarge on click the map.

(Click the map above for a large view.)