The Gecko Nebula, LBN 437, in Lacerta

LBN 437, the Gecko Nebula, is a molecular cloud

in the constellation Lacerta, the lizard.

"You just can't make this stuff up." —unknown

Hover over the image for an annotated view.

Date:  30 September – 2 October 2025

FOV:  cropped to 2° 15' × 1° 30'; the angular size of LBN 437 is about 75' long

Telescope:  Stellarvue SVX102T + SFFR.74 reducer/flattener

(522.39mm, nominally 528mm, f/5.18)

Guiding:  ZWO ASI120MM mini mono guide camera,

Stellarvue F050G 50mm guide scope

Computer:  ASIair pro Raspberry Pi

Mount:  ZWO AM5N

Camera:  ZWO ASI071MC Pro Cooled (-10°C) Color CMOS with gain 90

Pixel size:  4.78 μm

Resolution:  1.887 arcsec/pixel

Filter:  Optolong UVIR cut 30 Sept – 1 Oct

Optolong L-eNhance 1 – 2 Oct

Frames:  two sessions, UVIR and L-eNhance, all frames are 300 seconds

UVIR cut:  thirty-three frames 30 September

fifty-five frames 1 October

L-eNhance:  thirty-seven frames 1 October

thirty-three frames 2 October

Stacking:  one hundred fifty-eight frames using PixInsight

Total Time:  13 hours 10 minutes

Calibration:  20 flats, 20 dark flats, and 20 darks per session

Processing:  Pixinsight – SPCC, DBE, SPCC, BlurXT, NoiseXT → Linear_UVIR

MStr, GHS, HST, PMath MStr + GHS + HST → Stars_UVIR

Linear_UVIR, StarXT → Starless_UVIR

SPCC, DBE, SPCC, BlurXT, NoiseXT → Linear_LeNh

Linear_LeNh StarXT → Starless_LeNh

PMath ~(~Starless_UVIR*~Starless_LeNh) → Starless

PMath ~(~Stars_UVIR*~Starless) → Blend, scale

Location:  Darling Hill Observatory in Vesper, NY