Astro Photons

  • News
  • Astrophotography
  • About
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Beginner’s Guide
  • Night Sky Objects
  • Astrophotography
  • Skywatching
  • About

search icon
Homepage link
  • Beginner’s Guide
  • Night Sky Objects
  • Astrophotography
  • Skywatching
  • About

×
Home » Astrophotography

North America Nebula - How to Photograph With a Telephoto Lens

Published: Aug 21, 2018 · Last update: Sep 2, 2021 · Author: Paweł Białecki · 1 Comment

A few days ago, I had an excellent opportunity to photograph one of the best astrophotography targets on the Fall/Autumn sky - the North America Nebula (NGC 7000). Thanks to great weather (no clouds, no wind, a pleasant temperature at night) and temporarily having access to a backyard 24h/day (I usually live in a flat), I was finally able to push my mobile widefield astrophotography rig to its limits (check out my previous post about Andromeda Galaxy, some pictures from it come from the same session).

North America Nebula
Jump to:
  • North America Nebula Facts
  • How To Find North America Nebula on the Night Sky
  • How To Photograph The North America Nebula With DSLR or mirrorless camera
  • 💬 Comments

At the time of writing this, I'm after a few more astro sessions, and this one is the latest one in which I didn't take calibration frames (darks, flats, and bias). I have recently learned about them, and since then, I have done them every time. I plan to write more about them in the following posts (Veil or Eagle Nebula).

North America Nebula Facts

North America Nebula is an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus, near Deneb star. Nebula's shape resembles the North American continent, and it's often called - incorrectly - as North American Nebula.

The nebula is one of the best targets for beginner astrophotographers. It's big, bright, and high in the sky (usually). Also, it is easy to locate thanks to the nearby bright star, Deneb. Moreover, you don't need a telescope to photograph it - the nebula is large and has many exciting astrophotography targets next to itself (Pelican Nebula, IC 5068, Deneb, NGC 6991). Hence, it's even better to photograph it widefield.

Different namesNGC 7000, Caldwell 20
Right ascension20h 59m 17.1s
Declination+44° 31′ 44″
Magnitude4
Size120×100 arcmin

How To Find North America Nebula on the Night Sky

How to find North America Nebula map (location)
Quickly locate the North America Nebula by finding the Summer Triangle and then Deneb. The nebula is just next to it.

Thanks to its closeness to the bright star, the nebula is easy to find. First, locate the Summer Triangle asterism. Second, point your telephoto lens at Deneb and take a test shot. You will see nebulosity even on an unprocessed photo straight on the camera display preview.

Unprocessed North America Nebula
North America Nebula is visible on one unprocessed shot (sub), straight from a camera.
Annotated North America Nebula region
North America Nebula and Pelican Nebula annotated by Astrometry.net

How To Photograph The North America Nebula With DSLR or mirrorless camera

Below is my final picture of the nebula for the 2018 season. You can also see the Pelican Nebula and the Deneb star.

North America Nebula

Camera settings

Exposure time19 x 2 minutes (120 seconds)
ISO800
Aperturef/2.0

19 light frames (38 minutes total integration time) stacked in Starry Sky Stacker and further processed in Affinity Photo.

I reprocessed the same data a few months later in PixInsight. Astro post-processing skills grow over time.

Astrophotography setup

I took this picture with my standard widefield astrophotography rig:

  • Fornax Lightrack II equatorial mount
  • Fuji X-T20 camera
  • Rokinon/Samyang 135mm f/2.0 lens
  • NiSi Natural Night light pollution filter
  • Manfrotto 475B tripod
  • Vanguard GH-30 Pistol Grip Ball
  • Manfrotto 410 JUNIOR geared head
  • Manfrotto 553 Angle Bracket
  • Celestron PowerTank Lithium Power Pack (not yet mounted on the picture below)

More Astrophotography

  • astrophotography acronyms dictionary. Overhead view of astrophotography gear on a dark starry background, including telescope, filters, guide camera, and red flashlight. flat lay of astrophotography equipment on dark starry background, labeled items like telescope, filter wheel, guide camera, star chart, red flashlight, clean overhead view, no text, high detail, night sky theme
    Astrophotography Acronyms: A to Z Astro Imaging Dictionary
  • Astrophotography Targets by Month Full List
    Astrophotography Targets by Month – Best List for Beginners
  • Fall Astrophotography: The 7 Best Autumn Targets for Beginners
  • Dumbbell Nebula (M27): How to Photograph with a DSLR Camera

Comments

  1. Michael Guy, a.k.a. Michael Guy Le'cluse, wrtier musician says

    June 09, 2025 at 6:57 pm

    Wow, Sir, you've have really worked so hard on these web pages to provide exceptional material! GREAT work. My only problem was some of the North American seen objects had no links to photos I could find. Also no "Horse-head"nebulae photos? It is so famous!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Paweł Białecki, the author behind Astro Photons
Paweł Białecki

I’m Paweł Białecki — an astrophotographer and indie app developer who’s been exploring the night sky for over a decade. Here on Astro Photons, I share practical guides, cosmic insights, and deep-sky photos to help you enjoy and understand our universe — no telescope degree required.

This blog is part of my personal mission to make astronomy more approachable. I write for beginners, hobbyists, and curious stargazers who want real, useful advice — not just textbook definitions. All guides are based on hands-on experience, actual night sky photography, and a genuine love for the cosmos.

I also build simple, helpful tools for fellow science enthusiasts — like UnitToolbox, a universal unit converter made to work beautifully on any device.

More about me →

As seen in:

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Author - Paweł Białecki
  • Astrophotography Gallery
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Legal, Privacy Policy, Cookies

Contact

  • Contact


© 2017–2025 Paweł Białecki · Astro Photons. This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse, you accept our use of cookies. Some articles may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Sponsored content may also appear from time to time. Astro Photons is owned and operated by Paweł Białecki, os. Orła Białego 48, 59-920 Bogatynia, Poland, EU. Apple and App Store are trademarks of Apple Inc. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.