Fish Head Nebula (NGC896, Narrowband)

I have photographed the Heart Nebula before, and was always curious and interested in the little appendix in the corner. It can easily be overlooked when looking at the much larger and impressive details of the Heart Nebula (See flic.kr/p/2qgwVE8). This time, I decided to spend some quality time imaging NGC896; I love the intricate patterns of dark dust clouds interspersed with brighter regions full of young stars.

 

In total, I've managed to acquire 27 hours of narrowband data, with both the Optolong L-Ultimate (3nm Ha & Oiii) and with the Antlia ALP-T 5nm Ha & Oiii filters.

 

I used my William Optics FLT 132 with the Flat8 0.72x reducer, the ZWO ASI2600MC Pro camera, on an AM5 mount with ASIAir Plus. Processed with PixInsight + Affinity Photo 2.

 

Please see the starless / SHO palette here: flic.kr/p/2qg7Hpe

 

More acquisition details in Astrobin: astrob.in/cf11hv/0/

 

I hope you like it and perhaps be inspired to spend some time imaging this somewhat overlooked but beautiful nebula.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Clear Skies

Eduardo

 

 

===== From Wikipedia ====

The Fish Head Nebula, or the Northern Bear Nebula, is part of a large star forming system of gas and dust located along the Perseus spiral arm of the Milky Way. The nebula is located in the Constellation Cassiopeia, approximately 6,000 light-years from Earth and is adjacent to the much larger Heart Nebula. The brighter region of the nebula is designated NGC 896 and is the home to many young and large stars. These stars radiate high amounts of ultraviolet light. This UV radiation excites the surrounding gas and causes it to shine at a high brightness.

Done