Sadr Region in Cygnus
Second pass. Updated the previous image by blending in a significant amount of natural light collected with LRGB filters. Also added more Oiii as that data was the most noisy.
Like the lobster claw nebula this was surprisingly hard to process for me. Each narrowband channel has a lot going on but it's hard to blend them together in a pleasing way. The details don't seem to coalesce into any mid-level structures even though individually it looks like they might. However blending and multiplying this with a natural light image brings out interesting colors and mid level structures. I will be experimenting more with this process now, most of my earlier targets are easily processed with either pure emission filters or natural light.
Data collection
Total integration time: 26.7 hours
2x Askar ACL200: 200mm f/4
1x Canon 200mm f/2.8
3x ZWO ASI533MM Mono Camera at -20C
Guided on ZWO AM5, Chroma filters:
251x Luminance @1m
112x Red, Green, Blue @1m
48xHa, 54xSii, 101xOiii @5m
Captured with N.I.N.A. processed with PixInsight, Ps
Overview
The Sadr Region—centered on the bright supergiant Sadr (γ Cygni) in the heart of the Northern Cross of Cygnus—is one of the richest wide-field nebular fields in the Milky Way. This picture with an apparent span of about ≈3°, the area presents an immense tapestry of emission nebulae, dark dust lanes, and star clouds belonging to the Cygnus X complex roughly 4,500–6,000 light-years away.
Central Star and Surrounding Emission
Sadr (Gamma Cygni) is an F-type supergiant (visual magnitude ≈2.2) that dominates the view but is not the primary source of the surrounding nebular excitation.
Around it lies a vast H II region catalogued as IC 1318, popularly called the Butterfly Nebula (not to be confused with the planetary nebula of the same nickname in Sagittarius). IC 1318’s two broad wings of hydrogen-alpha emission frame Sadr and give the region its butterfly-like appearance.
Major Nebular Structures in this image°
IC 1318 A, B, and C – The three principal emission “wings” of the Butterfly Nebula, glowing in hydrogen-alpha with intricate dark dust lanes dividing them.
LBN 251 and LBN 249 – Prominent Lynds Bright Nebula segments forming the brightest H α filaments and helping define the Butterfly’s structure.
Dark Nebulae (Barnard 343, 344 and others) – Complex networks of obscuring dust that carve the dramatic dark rifts through the glowing gas.
Open cluster NGC 6910 – A compact group of hot young stars just northeast of Sadr, whose ultraviolet radiation helps ionize parts of the surrounding gas.
Structure & Appearance
This region is a prime part of the Cygnus X star-forming complex, where massive stars and supernova remnants energize the interstellar medium. Bright hydrogen filaments intertwine with lanes of cold molecular dust, while young clusters such as NGC 6910 signal ongoing star formation.
Sources of Text
Sharpless, S. (1959) – A Catalogue of H II Regions listing IC 1318 and other Cygnus H II complexes.
Lynds, B. T. (1965) – Catalogue of Bright and Dark Nebulae for LBN and Barnard objects.
Goss & Shaver (1970s) – Radio surveys of the Cygnus X H II complex.
Gaia EDR3 (2020) – Distances and stellar parameters for Sadr and NGC 6910.
IPHAS H α Survey and deep narrowband imaging projects documenting the Crescent Nebula, the Soap Bubble planetary nebula, and the detailed filamentary structures of IC 1318.
Sadr Region in Cygnus
Second pass. Updated the previous image by blending in a significant amount of natural light collected with LRGB filters. Also added more Oiii as that data was the most noisy.
Like the lobster claw nebula this was surprisingly hard to process for me. Each narrowband channel has a lot going on but it's hard to blend them together in a pleasing way. The details don't seem to coalesce into any mid-level structures even though individually it looks like they might. However blending and multiplying this with a natural light image brings out interesting colors and mid level structures. I will be experimenting more with this process now, most of my earlier targets are easily processed with either pure emission filters or natural light.
Data collection
Total integration time: 26.7 hours
2x Askar ACL200: 200mm f/4
1x Canon 200mm f/2.8
3x ZWO ASI533MM Mono Camera at -20C
Guided on ZWO AM5, Chroma filters:
251x Luminance @1m
112x Red, Green, Blue @1m
48xHa, 54xSii, 101xOiii @5m
Captured with N.I.N.A. processed with PixInsight, Ps
Overview
The Sadr Region—centered on the bright supergiant Sadr (γ Cygni) in the heart of the Northern Cross of Cygnus—is one of the richest wide-field nebular fields in the Milky Way. This picture with an apparent span of about ≈3°, the area presents an immense tapestry of emission nebulae, dark dust lanes, and star clouds belonging to the Cygnus X complex roughly 4,500–6,000 light-years away.
Central Star and Surrounding Emission
Sadr (Gamma Cygni) is an F-type supergiant (visual magnitude ≈2.2) that dominates the view but is not the primary source of the surrounding nebular excitation.
Around it lies a vast H II region catalogued as IC 1318, popularly called the Butterfly Nebula (not to be confused with the planetary nebula of the same nickname in Sagittarius). IC 1318’s two broad wings of hydrogen-alpha emission frame Sadr and give the region its butterfly-like appearance.
Major Nebular Structures in this image°
IC 1318 A, B, and C – The three principal emission “wings” of the Butterfly Nebula, glowing in hydrogen-alpha with intricate dark dust lanes dividing them.
LBN 251 and LBN 249 – Prominent Lynds Bright Nebula segments forming the brightest H α filaments and helping define the Butterfly’s structure.
Dark Nebulae (Barnard 343, 344 and others) – Complex networks of obscuring dust that carve the dramatic dark rifts through the glowing gas.
Open cluster NGC 6910 – A compact group of hot young stars just northeast of Sadr, whose ultraviolet radiation helps ionize parts of the surrounding gas.
Structure & Appearance
This region is a prime part of the Cygnus X star-forming complex, where massive stars and supernova remnants energize the interstellar medium. Bright hydrogen filaments intertwine with lanes of cold molecular dust, while young clusters such as NGC 6910 signal ongoing star formation.
Sources of Text
Sharpless, S. (1959) – A Catalogue of H II Regions listing IC 1318 and other Cygnus H II complexes.
Lynds, B. T. (1965) – Catalogue of Bright and Dark Nebulae for LBN and Barnard objects.
Goss & Shaver (1970s) – Radio surveys of the Cygnus X H II complex.
Gaia EDR3 (2020) – Distances and stellar parameters for Sadr and NGC 6910.
IPHAS H α Survey and deep narrowband imaging projects documenting the Crescent Nebula, the Soap Bubble planetary nebula, and the detailed filamentary structures of IC 1318.