MFO-001 | The Pelican Nebula (IC 5070)

Tom Shankapotomous
2 days ago
2 min read

Pelican Nebula - IC 5070

Captured: October 23 2025

Location: Massanutten Resort, Virginia — Field Post Alpha (“Mattahausen Ridge”)

Instrument: ZWO Seestar S50 Smart Telescope

Exposure: 281 × 10 s subframes ≈ 47 min total integration

Stack: In-camera stack (Seestar App); raw FITs archived for future Siril/APP re-stack on Linux

Processing: Minimal stretch; no gradient removal or color calibration applied

Target Overview

Object: IC 5070 — The Pelican Nebula

Constellation: Cygnus

Type: Emission (H II) region / stellar nursery

Distance: ≈ 1 ,800 light-years

Angular Size: ≈ 60 × 50 arcmin (~50 ly across)

Associated Objects: NGC 7000 (North America Nebula), Cygnus OB2 association

Dominant Emissions: Hydrogen-α (656 nm), trace O III and S II

Field Narrative

The first deployment of the Mobile Field Observatory was set against the quiet folds of the Shenandoah Valley. From a makeshift clearing near the Mattahausen Resort, the Seestar locked cleanly onto IC 5070 shortly after nautical twilight. Even in the live stack, the nebula’s “beak” and “neck” were visible through light pollution on the eastern horizon.

The resulting stack shows a strong hydrogen signal and excellent structure in the central ionization front. The bright blue-white star near the upper field marks the foreground of Cygnus OB2. Despite the Seestar’s automatic color bias toward red, the image reveals the transition between ionized gas and the dark molecular clouds where new stars form — the true “pelican’s neck.”

Technical Notes

Guiding: Native Seestar tracking — no visible drift over 47 min

Sky Quality: Bortle 4-5; ambient skyglow from Harrisonburg present

Temperature: ≈ 42 °F (6 °C)

Calibration Frames: None (collected light only); darks and flats to be added for Siril processing

Planned Re-process: Linear workflow in Siril with background neutralization, photometric color calibration, and gentle HDR stretch

Target Coordinates: RA 20ʰ 51ᵐ , Dec +44° 25′

Interpretive Notes

IC 5070 is the birthplace of stars. Each crimson fold is plasma recombining after ionization — a slow conversation between radiation and gravity. The light captured here left its source when the Appalachians were still young and icy; it arrived to a portable observatory on a cold Virginia ridge with a battery-powered scope and a steady hand.