Messier 27 - The Dumbbell Nebula
Messier 27, also known as the Dumbbell Nebula, is a striking planetary nebula located about 1,200 light-years away in the constellation Vulpecula. Formed by the outer layers of a dying star, this glowing cloud of gas surrounds a faint white dwarf at its center. In this image, the nebula appears to stretch out like wings, with delicate structures flowing outward from the core. I captured it using the Optolong L-eNhance filter and processed the image in the HOO palette to highlight the rich Hydrogen Alpha and Oxygen III emissions. The result is a vibrant and detailed view of one of the most iconic planetary nebulae in the night sky.
Acquisition details:
Calibration frames:
20 Darks
20 Flats
20 Biases
Bortle: 5
Optolong L-Pro lights:
4hr 45min
57x 300sec
Gear used:
🔭 Askar 103APO
⚙️ Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro
📸 ZWO ASI294MC Pro
🌌 Optolong L-eNhance
Caldwell 49 - The Rosette Nebula
This image is dedicated to the Sterrenstof podcast, the best Dutch podcast about astronomy and spaceflight. Their "Astrophotography tip of the month" inspired me to make the Rosette Nebula my next project.
To create this image, I used the Optolong L-eNhance dualband filter, which isolates two specific emission lines from ionized gas: Hydrogen Alpha (Ha) and Oxygen III (Oiii). In this palette, the Ha appears in deep red tones, while the Oiii shows up as blue and cyan hues.
The Rosette Nebula, located about 4,500 light years away in the constellation Monoceros, is a massive star-forming region. The nebula is home to the open star cluster NGC 2244, whose young stars ionize the surrounding gas, making it glow. With its intricate gas and dust structures, the Rosette Nebula is one of the most striking stellar nurseries in the Milky Way.
If you look closely at the darker structures near the core, you might even spot some animal-like shapes hidden in the dust. I highlighted a few of them in the second image of this post. Let me know what you see.
Acquisition details:
Optolong L-Pro lights:
4hr 45min
57x 300sec
Calibration frames:
20 Darks
20 Flats
20 Biases
Bortle: 5
Gear used:
🔭 Askar 103APO
⚙️ Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro
📸 ZWO ASI294MC Pro
🌌 Optolong L-eNhance
Messier 42 - The Great Orion Nebula
Each year since 2021, I have tried to capture at least one night of exposures of the Orion Nebula, but the final image I created this year is by far the best one I've ever made. It's also the first time I have been able to see the four main Trapezium Cluster stars in the core, as well as a small protoplanetary disk (106-427) slightly to the south of them (between the two larger stars). This result motivates me to take an ever better picture next year, perhaps with at least 10 hours of data? Maybe also using my dualband filter as well? Let's see what happens!
Acquisition details:
Optolong L-Pro lights:
1hr 30min
36x 180sec
0hr 02min
126x 1sec
Calibration frames for each stack:
20 Darks
20 Flats
20 Dark flats
Bortle: 5
Gear used:
🔭 Askar 103APO
⚙️ Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro
📸 ZWO ASI294MC Pro
🌌 Optolong L-Pro
Messier 45 - The Pleiades, also known as The Seven Sisters
Messier 45, also known as the Pleiades or the Seven Sisters, is one of the most striking and well-known open star clusters in the night sky. Located around 440 light-years away in the constellation Taurus, it consists of hundreds of stars, though only a few are visible to the naked eye. But you can see it on a clear night. The cluster is filled with hot, young blue stars, formed less than 100 million years ago, and is beautifully surrounded by a dusty reflection nebula. This glowing effect comes from starlight reflecting off interstellar dust. Interestingly, the dust doesn’t originate from the cluster itself, but from a passing cloud drifting through the region. The Pleiades has been admired by cultures around the world for thousands of years, and it continues to inspire everyone today.
Acquisition details:
Optolong L-Pro lights:
4hr 30min
90x 180sec
Calibration frames:
20 Darks
20 Flats
20 Biases
Bortle: 5
Gear used:
🔭 Askar 103APO
⚙️ Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro
📸 ZWO ASI294MC Pro
🌌 Optolong L-Pro
IC 434 - The Horsehead Nebula
The Horsehead Nebula is one of the most iconic dark nebulae in the night sky, located in the constellation Orion, around 1,375 light-years away. Its distinctive horse-shaped silhouette stands out dramatically against a glowing background of ionized gas, making it one of my favorite targets. For this image, I used the Optolong L-Pro filter to enhance contrast and bring out the dusty dark details of the surrounding regions. I chose to present the Hydrogen Alpha areas in vibrant magenta to highlight the dramatic structure around the nebula and give the scene an extra sense of depth and color contrast. The result is a colorful and dynamic view of this famous deep-sky object.
Acquisition details:
Optolong L-Pro lights:
3hr 37min
79x 180sec
Calibration frames:
20 Darks
20 Flats
20 Dark flats
Bortle: 5
Gear used:
🔭 Askar 103APO
⚙️ Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro
📸 ZWO ASI294MC Pro
🌌 Optolong L-Pro
IC 405 - The Flaming Star Nebula
IC 405 – The Flaming Star Nebula. With my previous camera, the ZWO ASI294MC Pro, I always struggled to find a field of view that did this object justice. But now, with the ZWO ASI2600MC AIR and its larger sensor, the entire nebula fits beautifully into one frame.
Since we're talking about a “flaming star,” I thought it would be fitting to process the image using the Foraxx color palette. Thanks to my Optolong L-eNhance dualband filter, I was able to isolate the necessary emission lines to make the colors really stand out.
The Flaming Star Nebula is located about 1,500 light-years away in the constellation Auriga. It's a combination of both emission and reflection nebulae, meaning it both glows from ionized gas excited by nearby stars and reflects light from surrounding starlight. At the heart of the nebula is the star AE Aurigae, a runaway star believed to have been ejected from the Orion Nebula region. As AE Aurigae moves through the surrounding gas and dust, it energizes the nebula, creating the striking fiery appearance that gives IC 405 its name.
Acquisition details:
Optolong L-eNhance lights:
4hr 30min
54x 300sec
Calibration frames:
20 Darks
20 Flats
20 Dark flats
Bortle: 5
Gear used:
🔭 Askar 103APO
⚙️ Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro
📸 ZWO ASI2600MC AIR
🌌 Optolong L-eNhance
NGC 6888 - The Crescent Nebula
NGC6888 - The Crescent Nebula is an emission nebula with a bright Wolf-Rayet-star in the middle of it. It's located approximately 5000 lightyears from our Earth. My picture also displays the faint Soap Bubble Nebula (Ju 1) which was discovered in 2007/2008. For this image I choose to use a HOO colour palette which was possible to create with with my OSC camera and dualband Ha/Oiii filter.
Acquisition details:
Optolong L-eNhance lights:
4hr 05min
49x 300sec
Calibration frames:
20 Darks
20 Flats
20 Dark flats
Bortle: 5
Gear used:
🔭 Askar 103APO
⚙️ Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro
📸 ZWO ASI294MC Pro
🌌 Optolong L-eNhance
NGC 281 - The Pacman Nebula
NGC 281, also known as the Pacman Nebula, is a bright emission nebula located about 9,500 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia. This nebula gets its nickname due to its distinctive shape, which resembles the iconic video game character Pacman. The nebula is a stellar nursery, where new stars are being born, and it is filled with glowing hydrogen gas, primarily due to the intense radiation from young, hot stars at its core. The dark patches within the nebula are regions of dust and gas that are dense enough to block the light from the stars behind them.
For this image, I used the HOO (Ha, OIII) color palette to highlight the emission regions of hydrogen and oxygen. The H-alpha data is represented in red, while the Oxygen III data is mapped to green and blue tones. This palette really helps bring out the fine details in the nebula, giving it a striking contrast between the gas and the surrounding dark areas. NGC 281 is not only a beautiful object to observe, but it also provides valuable insight into the process of star formation, making it a favorite target for both amateur and professional astronomers alike.
Acquisition details:
Optolong L-eNhance lights:
4hr 05min
49x 300sec
Calibration frames:
20 Darks
20 Flats
20 Dark flats
Bortle: 5
Gear used:
🔭 Askar 103APO
⚙️ Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro
📸 ZWO ASI294MC Pro
🌌 Optolong L-eNhance
NGC 7830 - The Wizard Nebula
NGC 7380, also known as the Wizard Nebula, sometimes referred to as "Harry Potter and the Golden Snitch Nebula," is a fascinating emission nebula located in the constellation Cepheus. It was too large to properly fit in the frame with my William Optics Redcat 51 MK2.5 telescope, which is why I was excited to capture it as one of the first targets with my new Askar 103APO.
For this image, I used the SHO Foraxx color palette to bring out the contrast and detail in the hydrogen and oxygen emissions. In this palette, the hydrogen regions take on a fiery appearance, adding a dramatic glow to the scene. The sharpness and clarity from this new setup really made the Wizard come to life.
Acquisition details:
Optolong L-eNhance lights:
7hr 30min
90x 300sec
Calibration frames:
20 Darks
20 Flats
20 Biases
Bortle: 5
Gear used:
🔭 Askar 103APO
⚙️ Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro
📸 ZWO ASI294MC Pro
🌌 Optolong L-eNhance
NGC 7000 - The North America Nebula
NGC 7000, also known as the North America Nebula, and IC 5070, the Pelican Nebula, are two beautiful emission nebulae located in the constellation Cygnus, about 2,600 light-years away. The North America Nebula’s shape resembles the continent of North America, while the Pelican Nebula looks like a pelican with its head and beak, (I don’t think it looks like that at all haha).
For this image, I used the Hubble color palette, where Hydrogen Alpha is represented in orange-gold and Oxygen III in blue-cyan. This color choice brings out the stunning contrast between the different gas regions in the nebulae.
I was thrilled that this image was later chosen as the cover for the Sterrenstof Podcast astronomical calendar for 2024, a nice recognition of the effort put into capturing this beautiful scene, and it was also the first time my work got published!
Acquisition details:
Optolong L-eNhance lights:
3hr 10min
38x 300sec
Calibration frames:
20 Darks
20 Flats
20 Dark flats
Bortle: 5
Gear used:
🔭 Askar 103APO
⚙️ Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro
📸 ZWO ASI294MC Pro
🌌 Optolong L-eNhance
IC 63 - The Ghost of Cassiopeia
IC 63, also known as the Ghost of Cassiopeia, is a beautifully eerie emission and reflection nebula located in the constellation Cassiopeia. What makes this object especially striking is the bright star nearby, Gamma Cassiopeiae, also known as Navi, which illuminates the nebula and gives it its ghostly glow.
The nebula is a mix of glowing hydrogen gas and reflected starlight, creating a haunting shape that seems to drift through space. Its unique form and vivid colors make it a rewarding, though challenging, target to capture.
This was also the first time I used the new MARS tool in PixInsight. It made a big difference in processing, as the sensor blotches from my ZWO ASI294MC Pro were completely removed for the first time, resulting in a much cleaner and more detailed image.
Acquisition details:
Optolong L-eNhance lights:
5hr 25min
65x 300sec
Calibration frames:
20 Darks
20 Flats
20 Biases
Bortle: 5
Gear used:
🔭 Askar 103APO
⚙️ Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro
📸 ZWO ASI294MC Pro
🌌 Optolong L-eNhance