It’s been a bit since we have had a nice Moonless clear sky. Monday night, 3/11/2024, was a very nice night for looking up. Cool, but not too cold, with temperatures in the mid-to-low 40s. Very clear, no Moon, and only a little breeze. I was chasing the Skywatcher USA Target of the Month (TOTM) for March 2024, the Headphone Nebula (or Jones-Emberson 1, or PK 164+31.1).

I uncovered the scope early in the afternoon. Since the clocks were just sprung ahead it is not getting dark till after 8 PM. Once it was dark enough I ran the Ekos Auto Focus routine, the focus steps were set at 10173. Plate solving focal length was being calculated at 569.6 mm (F/5.6). Once in focus I ran the Ekos Polar Alignment routine and then I was off to capturing light.

Primary (Imaging)	Secondary (Guiding)
Scope: SVBONY SV503 102ED Reducer/Flattener: SVBONY SV193 0.8 FR/FF Filter: None Camera: ZWO ASI294 MC Pro, Cooled to -10 C Focuser: ZWO EAF Mount: Sky Watcher EQ6-R Pro	Scope: SVBONY SV106 60mm Guide Scope Camera: Orion Star Shooter Autoguider (OSSAG)
Telescope Control, Image Acquisition, and Image Processing Software
Equipment Control and Imaging Software: KStars/Ekos connecting to INDI Server on a Raspberry Pi Stacking and Processing Software: Siril astronomical image processing tool

The Headphone Nebula is a planetary nebula located in the constellation of Lynx. It is very dim at around 14th magnitude.

This is stack of 24 x 300 second exposures at 121 gain, 30 offset, and bin 2×2, so 2 hours of exposures. Stacked, cropped, and processing in Siril.

Interesting planetary nebula. Does kind of look like a bit like a head wearing headphones. I am going to submit it for the SkywatcherUSA TOTM. Check out my other TOTM submissions here.

Hoping for more clear skies in the near future. Had a lot of fun looking up last night.