The Phoenix [Explored]

The Seagull Nebula was my favorite deepscape target in January. This composition includes Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. The blueish speck above the horizon, to the left of the central peak, is Thor's Helmet (NGC 2359). This is an emission nebula, powered by a central Wolf-Rayet star, an extremely hot star, thought to be in a brief pre-supernova stage of evolution.

 

Those who remember my previous posted deepscape of the Seagull Nebula may recognize the peak as Mt. Druesberg in central Switzerland and wonder why the alignment of the nebula over the mountains is different. The reason for this is simple: I captured this image one night earlier and from a different spot, one mountain range further back.

 

EXIF

Cameras:

Canon EOS 6D, astro-modified (for color data)

ZWO ASI 1600MM Pro (for H-alpha)

Lens & Filters:

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8

Baader Ultra Narrowband 3,5nm H-alpha filter

Mount:

Equatorially mounted Skywatcher AZ-GTI

ZWO ASIair for mount and camera control.

 

Foreground:

Stack of 12 x 30s @ ISO1600

 

Sky:

RGB - Stack of 31 x 30s @ ISO1600 / 145mm

H-alpha - Stack of 14 x 120s @ Gain200 / 70mm (to match the 145mm full frame FOV)

Done