The Eastern Veil and Planetary Nebula Pa 28
Published 22 August 2026
The Veil nebula is a common and favorite target for many imagers during the summer and fall months of the year. The super nova remnant is huge and bright and to get the whole thing in a single image requires either a mosaic or a low resolution but really large field of view lens or telescope. Most, however, don’t know that there is a small planetary nebula close by to the eastern Veil. This planetary nebula was found by my friend @DanaPatchick in 2012.
This little planetary nebula is called Pa 28 but also goes by the catalogue designation of PNG 076.8-08.1. It’s about 2 arc minutes in size and generally emits in [O III] although it does have a very faint H𝛼 component.
The central star is around 19th magnitude and it takes a bit of imaging time to resolve the nebula itself.
Another friend suggested I try to capture both the eastern Veil and Pa 28. With my 80mm f/6 refractor I was just able to fit both into the field of view using my ASI 2600 MC pro camera. This past new moon period was anomalously clear in my neck of the woods along the US Gulf Coast so I was able to collect 16.3hrs of dual narrowband data and 5.7 hours of RGB data from my bortle 5 suburban backyard.
This little planetary nebula is called Pa 28 but also goes by the catalogue designation of PNG 076.8-08.1. It’s about 2 arc minutes in size and generally emits in [O III] although it does have a very faint H𝛼 component.
The central star is around 19th magnitude and it takes a bit of imaging time to resolve the nebula itself.
Another friend suggested I try to capture both the eastern Veil and Pa 28. With my 80mm f/6 refractor I was just able to fit both into the field of view using my ASI 2600 MC pro camera. This past new moon period was anomalously clear in my neck of the woods along the US Gulf Coast so I was able to collect 16.3hrs of dual narrowband data and 5.7 hours of RGB data from my bortle 5 suburban backyard.
Above is a full resolution crop of Pa 28
Annotated image showing the eastern Veil and Pa 28 on the upper right side of the image.
Image Details
- Optics : Stellarvue SV80s f/6
- Mount: ZWO AM5
- Camera: ZWO ASI 2600 MC pro
- Filters: Antlia 5nm H𝛼/OIII dual narrowband filter
- Exposure (hrs): RGB: 5.7hrs, Dual narrowband H𝛼/OIII: 16.3 hrs
- Automation Control: ZWO ASI Air
- Guiding: ZWO 30mm guide scope with ASI 120 mm mini
- Processing Software: PixInsight
- Location: Stark Bayou Observatory, Ocean Springs, MS
- Sky: Typical SQM 19.6-20.1, Bortle 5, Suburban
- Date: 4-8 Aug 2026
