When to photograph NGC 3576 (Statue of Liberty Nebula)
NGC 3576, the Statue of Liberty Nebula, is an emission nebula in Carina, 3′ across.
When to photograph it
From 45° N it never rises.
From 35° S the best months are February to May, with up to 8.8 hours of astronomical darkness above 30° in March. It reaches 64° at its highest. It never sets from this latitude, so some imaging is possible all year.
Framing
At 3′ it is small. Even 4000 mm of focal length leaves it filling less than a third of an APS-C frame, so it suits long focal lengths, small pixels and good seeing.
Filters and the moon
It glows in H-alpha, and often OIII, so a dual-band filter on a color camera or narrowband filters on a mono camera cut light pollution and keep it workable with the moon up. The dark sky calendar shows which nights this month are moon-free where you are.
Plan it for tonight
Dates and times depend on your exact location. The imaging planner shows NGC 3576's altitude through tonight, its transit time and its distance from the moon. For sub length, use the exposure calculator.
Nearby targets
- NGC 3532 Wishing Well Cluster 2.7° away
- NGC 3766 Pearl Cluster 3.0° away
- IC 2944 Running Chicken Nebula 3.3° away
- NGC 3372 Carina Nebula 3.6° away
- IC 2602 Southern Pleiades 4.4° away
- C 99 Coalsack Nebula 9.5° away
Gear that suits NGC 3576
NGC 3576 is only 3.0′ across, so it stays small in any amateur telescope. The longest focal length gives it the most pixels. It shines in H-alpha and OIII, so a dual-band filter on a color camera cuts through light pollution and moonlight.
- Celestron C8 OTA 2032 mm f/10: fills 11% of an APS-C frame's short side View at High Point Scientific
- Optolong L-Ultimate 3 nm 3 nm dual-band, Ha, OIII, for color cameras View at High Point Scientific
- Antlia ALP-T 5 nm 5 nm dual-band, Ha, OIII, for color cameras View at High Point Scientific
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