Pacman in a Sea of Stars (NGC 281)

A three-hour look at NGC 281, the Pacman Nebula, captured from Bignor Hill with the Seestar S30 Pro. What I particularly enjoyed about this target is how the bright core and dark dust lanes emerge from such a densely populated field of stars. With three hours of integration, some of the much fainter emission surrounding the familiar Pacman shape also started to reveal itself. I kept the processing fairly restrained, aiming to preserve the depth of the surrounding star field, natural star colours and the subtle transitions between the brighter and fainter regions of the nebula. There’s always more signal to chase, but I’m pleased with what the little S30 Pro managed to collect in a single night under the Bignor Hill sky. NGC 281 · Pacman Nebula · Cassiopeia Seestar S30 Pro · 3 hours integration Bignor Hill, West Sussex · 7 August 2026