Canon 400 f2.8 III + Tc 1.4x (Focale 560mm)

Camera Zwo ASI 1600 MM Pro Filtre Ha

AP1100GTOAE

33 pauses de 300s en Ha

Pixinsight / LightRoom

Object: IC1795 in SHO Palette (2024)

IC1795 is an emission nebula/star forming region that is part of the Heart Nebula located in the constellation of Cassiopeia in the Perseus spiral arm of our galaxy. The region is sometimes referred to as the Fish Head or Northern Bear Nebula. It is approximately 70 light years across and is about 6000 light years distant from Earth. The brighter region of the nebula is NGC 896, which contains many bright young, stars that excite the nebula to shine brightly.

Details:

- Acquisition Date: 11/02/2024 to 11/07/2024

- Location: Western Massachusetts, USA

- Imaging Camera: QHY600PH-M -10°C - Mode 1(High Gain) Offset:15 Gain:56

- Telescope: Celestron EdgeHD 11 Celestron 11" Edge HD @f/7

- Focal reducer: Celestron .7x Focal Reducer, for 11 HD

- Mount: Astro-Physics AP1100 w/GTO4

- Guide scope: Celestron Off Axis Guider

- Guide Camera: ASI174m mini

- Software: Adobe Photoshop CS5, Sequence Generator Pro, PixInsight 1.8 Ripley, Aries Astro Pixel Processor

Filters:

- Chroma Ha 3nm 50mm

- Chroma OIII 3nm 50mm

- Astrodon SII 3nm 50mm

Exposure Times:

- Hydrogen Alpha (Ha): 26 x 10min. (260min) bin 1x1

- Oxygen III (OIII):33 x 10min. (330min) bin 1x1

- Sulfur II (SII):26 x 10min. (260min) bin 1x1

Total Exposure/Integration:850min. (14.12hr)

Sky Quality:

-Magnitude: 19.71

-Bortle Class 5

-1.41 mcd/m^2 Brightness

-1234.6 ucd/m^2 Artificial Brightness

The Fish Head Nebula (NGC896) is shown here in a false color mapping known as the Hubble Pallet using a Sulphur, II, Hydrogen-alpha, and Oxygen-III filter set.. The nebulae center is ionized oxygen (O-III) and sulphur (S-II) gas while the outer fringes are ionzied hydrogen (Ha) gas. The image spans about 1/2 degree of sky, which is roughly the same size as the Moon. The stars in this image were captured as 30s RGB images while the nebulae where captured as 10m SHO images.

Equipment

ZWO ASI6200MM-P/EFW 2" x 7 (RGBSHO)

TeleVue NP101is (4" f/4.3)

Losmandy G11

Software:

Captured in NINA

Processed in PixInsight

Integration:

SII: 15 x 600s = 2:30

Ha: 17 x 600s = 2:50

OIII: 16 x 600s = 2:40

Total: 8:00

SHO (Hubble Palette) Processed in PixInsight / PS CC

SII - Red Channel

Ha - Green Channel

O3 - Blue Channel

Tech details:

SII - (Sulfur) 5nm

300s x 38 subs

Ha - (Hydrogen Alpha) 5nm

300s x 78 subs

O3 - (Oxygen III) 3nm

300s x 30 subs

Equipment:

Mount - Losmandy G11G

Scope - ES 127mm CF w/ .7x FF/FR

Camera - ZWO 1600MMC

This is a diffuse and emission nebula in the constellation of Cassiopeia (the Queen), the brighter nebula is NGC896 and they all are adjacent or are part of the larger IC1805, the Heart Nebula. It is approximately 6,000 light years distant from Earth. It is also known as the “Fish Head Nebula” or “The North Bear Nebula"

Taken at Lee, IL on July 30, 2016

Image Type: Bicolor Narrowband Ha 8 x 600, OIII 8 x 600

Hardware: Astro-Tech 8" RC, SBIG ST-8300M

Sembrerà incredibile!!! Eppure ho "inseguito" questa nebulosa, nota come Nebulosa Testa di Pesce

e catalogata con le sigle NGC896 o IC 1795, dal 9 dicembre 2025 fino al 14 gennaio di quest'anno per ben 5 notti. Raramente il meteo nella mia zona è stato così avverso: spesso nuvoloso o coperto, pioggia e persino il ciclone Harry, che ha recato molti danni soprattutto nelle coste orientali della Sicilia , Calabria e Sardegna.

Ho racimolato comunque più di 23 ore di integrazione anche se durante le prime 3 sessioni la qualità del cielo era mediocre e con la luna il 09/12 al 76%, il 10/12 al 66% e il 28/12 al 58%. E per questo motivo volevo integrare ulteriormente ma ormai la costellazione di Cassiopea è troppo bassa.

Ad ogni modo in questa occasione ho potuto utilizzare 3 filtri multi banda stretta (oltre all'Optolong L-eNhance anche l'SVBony SV220 Ha+OIII e l'SV220 SII+OIII, avuti in prestito dal mio amico Vincenzo Randazzo che ringrazio). Ho potuto fare così un test di comparazione:

-L-eNhance e SV220 Ha+O3 sono abbastanza simili anche se l'SVBony sembra avere una risposta migliore per l'Ha;

- SV220 SII+OIII invece mi ha sorpreso per la sua buona risposta sull'OIII.

E così ho combinato 279 frames ed elaborato il Masterlight con l'intento di estrapolare non solo più dettagli possibile ma anche di equilibrarla cromaticamente. Forse si potrebbe fare di meglio ma speriamo in una prossima volta.

_______

It may seem incredible!!! Yet I "chased" this nebula, known as Fish Head Nebula and cataloged with the acronyms NGC896 or IC 1795, from December 9, 2025, until January 14 of this year for a full 5 nights. Rarely has the weather in my area been so adverse: often cloudy or overcast, rain, and even Cyclone Harry, which caused a lot of damage, especially on the eastern coasts of Sicily, Calabria, and Sardinia.

I still managed to collect more than 23 hours of integration, even though during the first three sessions the sky quality was mediocre, with the moon at 76% on December 9th, 66% on December 10th, and 58% on December 28th. For this reason, I wanted to integrate further, but the Cassiopeia constellation is now too low.

In any case, on this occasion I was able to use three narrowband filters (in addition to the Optolong L-eNhance, also the SVBony SV220 Ha+OIII and the SV220 SII+OIII, borrowed from my friend Vincenzo Randazzo, whom I thank). I was thus able to perform a comparison test:

- L-eNhance and the SV220 Ha+O3 are quite similar, although the SVBony seems to have a better response for Ha;

- The SV220 SII+OIII surprised me with its good response for OIII.

So I combined 279 frames and processed the Masterlight with the aim of not only extracting as much detail as possible but also balancing it chromatically. Perhaps it could be done better, but let's hope for another time.

______________________

Optic: APO Refractor Askar 103APO + 0.6X

Camera: ZWO ASI533MC-Pro

Mount: Sky Watcher HEQ5 Synscan

Seeing: 4 (scala Antoniadi)

Narrowband filters: Optolong L-eNhance 2" + SVbony SV220 (Ha+OIII) + SV220 (SII+OIII)

-279x300s 250gain/ 35dark /27flat /80 bias

t° sensor: -10°C

Date: 2025-12-09+10+28 (with L-eNhance filter), 2026-01-13 (with SV220 Ha+OIII filter), 2026-01-14 (with SV220 SII+OIII filter),

Integration: 23h 15m

Temperature: 7°C (media)

location for: Biancavilla -Catania-(Italy) 515m slm (Bortle 5-6) flic.kr/p/8AWHek

Acquisition: NINA, PHDGuiding

Processing: SIRIL1.4.1, GraXpert, PS

The Fish Head Nebula - Catalogued as NGC 896 or IC 1795 is a projection of The Heart Nebula in Cassiopeia.

An area of intense Ha emission nebulosity the nebula is so named due to its resemblance to a fish head. Complete with bulging eye, gill-line and pouting mouth!

Imaged in pure Ha over two evenings 29.11 and 01.12.19 - clouds invaded later!

Esprit 120ED Triplet and a ZWO 1600MM Cool Camera. Baader Ha filter.

34 x 300s - Camera Cooled to -20

Hopefully have some OIII data to add later.

This image shows the Heart Nebula. This hydrogen emission nebula lies roughly 7500 light years away from Earth and is located in the Perseus Arm of our Galaxy in the constellation Cassiopeia.

The nebula's intense red output and its configuration are driven by the radiation emanating from a small group of stars near the nebula's center. This open cluster of stars known as Melotte 15 contains a few bright stars nearly 50 times the mass of our Sun, and many more dim stars that are only a fraction of our Sun's mass.

Astro modified Canon EOS 6D

William Optics Megrez 88 - 500mm f/5.6 piggybacked on a Celestron NexStar 8 GPS

40 x 45s @ ISO1600 stacked with fitswork

Thanks for all your comments and faves. They are highly appreciated!

Done in HST (Hubble Space Telescope Palette)

I started this last December 2013 and finally finished it on an imaging trip to Nova Scotia in late August 2014.

Acquisition Date: 12/28/2013 - 8/25/2014 -8/27/2014

Camera: SBIG ST8300M @ -15°C

Telescope Stellarvue SV105T (f/7)

Mount: Astro-Physics AP1100

Guidescope: William Optics 50mm f/4 guiding/finderscope

Guide Camera: SBIG STi-M

Filters:(Astrodon)

- Ha (3 nm): 12 x 15min (180min)

- OIII (3nm) - 10 x 15min (150min)

- SII (5nm) - 8 x 30min (240min)

Total Integration 570min (9.5 hours)

Comments: Stellarvue SFF7-21 field flattener.

Processed in PixInsight 1.8 and Adobe Photoshop CS5

The Fish head nebula (IC-1795) or also known as NGC896 features glowing gas and dust in a star forming area in Cassiopeia. It is part of the Heart nebula

(IC1805) complex that is located at about 6000 light years away.

ASI183mm Pro and Lacerta 72/432 F6 apo w/ 0.85x reducer.

Ha: 48x300s Gain 200 -15°C

Oxygen: 21x300s Gain 200 -15°C

NGC 896 SHO

The second draft IMHO Improves in the processing in the first draft.

Comments and critique always welcome.

This false color image of NCG 896, in the Heart Nebula, is sometimes called the Fish Head nebula. It is some 7500 light years from earth in the Cassiopeia constellation. The data was collected over five nights and combined in the SHO pallet. This assigns the Sii wavelength, a deep red, to the red channel, The Ha wavelength, a bright red, to the green channel, and the Oiii wavelength, a blue-green, to the blue channel.

The Fish Head Nebula contains a star forming region.

60x420s SII

42x300s Ha

83x300s Oiii

17 hours, 24 minutes total integration.

Data Collected Oct 18 -22, 2019 from Ridgecrest CA.

Telescope: Orion 8" f/3.9 Newtonian.

Mount Orion Atlas Pro Az/Eq-G

Guide Camera ZWO ASI120MC-S

60x225mm Guide Scope

Camera ZWO ASI 1600MM-Pro

Zwo Filters

Color Combination according to Hubble palette.

Shooting Location :

* 51° N 3° E

* bortle class 5 backyard

IC1805 Information

* Type : Emission Nebula

* Magnitude : 6.5

* Location (J2000.0): RA 02h 20m 45s / DEC +61° 12' 42"

* Approximate distance : 7.500 lightyears

IC1845 Information

* Type : Emission Nebula

* Magnitude : 6.5

* Location (J2000.0): RA 02h 55m 24s / DEC +60° 24' 36"

* Approximate distance : 7.500 lightyears

Hardware

* Mount : Celestron CGX

* Imaging Scope : Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II USM @ 135mm f/2.8

* Imaging Camera : ZWO ASI 183MM

* Filter Wheel : ZWO EFW 7*36mm + Baader Ha 7nm, Baader OIII 8.5nm + Baader SII 8.5nm + Baader LRGB

* Guide Scope : -

* Guide Camera : -

Exposures

* Single Exposure Length : 120s

* Sensor Temperature : -20°C

* Gain : 111

* Offset : 10

* Light Frames :

> Baader Ha : 42

> Baader OIII : 40

> Baaser SII : 40

* Bias Frames : 50

* Dark Frames : 30

* Flat Frames : -

* Flat Dark Frames : -

* Total Integration Time : 4h04m

* Capture Date : 2019-11-20/21

Capture Software

* ZWO ASIair

Processing Software

* AstroPixelProcessor

* PixInsight

* Adobe Photoshop

* Topaz AI Denoize

The Heart Nebula (IC 1805) lies about 7,500 light years away from Earth in the Perseus Arm of the Galaxy in the constellation Cassiopeia. The brightest part of the nebula (a knot at its western edge) is separately classified as NGC 896, because it was the first part of the nebula to be discovered. The nebula's intense red output and its morphology are driven by the radiation emanating from a small group of stars near the nebula's center. This open cluster of stars, known as Melotte 15, contains a few bright stars nearly 50 times the mass of our Sun, and many more dim stars that are only a fraction of our Sun's mass. The Heart Nebula is located adjacent to the Soul Nebula forming a view referred to as the Heart and Soul Nebula.

Tech Specs: William Optics REDCAT 51 Telescope, ZWO ASI071MC camera running at 0F, 180-minutes using 5-minute exposures, Optolong l-eXtreme 2” filter, Sky-Watcher EQ6R-Pro mount, ZWO EAF (ProAstroGear Black-CAT) and ASIAir Pro, guided using a ZWO 30mm f/4 mini guide scope and ZWO 120 mini, processed in PixInsight. Image Date: July 28 and August 25, 2024. Location: The Dark Side Observatory (W59), Weatherly, PA, USA (Bortle Class 4).

Technical Information:

Telescope: AIRY APO 130T PrimaLuceLab

Mount: Paramount MyT - Software Bisque

Camera: QHYCCD QHY9

Filter: Optolong H-a 7nm, OIII 6.5nm, SII 6.5nm

Frames: H-a: 40x900s -- OIII: 46x900s -- SII: 36x900s

Total Integration: 30.5 Hours

Software: SGP – TheSkyX – PHD2 – DSS – PixInsight – CS6

Location: AstroAtlas Observatory - Noventa di Piave (Venice) 4 meter above sea level – ITALY

Environment Temperature: About 23°C

Relative Humidity: 90%

Date: 11.09.20 - 12.09.20 - 13.09.20 - 14.09.20 - 15.09.20 - 17.09.20

This is the Bi-Color version taken from the AstroAtlas Observatory situated in Noventa di Piave (ITALY); The image shows IC1795 and NGC896.

I do really love this object! I have used the Hubble Palette (Black and white) version like Luminance.

I hope you like it and clear skies!

AstroBin: astrob.in/0mxywd/0/

NOTE: The image was acquired from a polluted sky with high humidity - Bortle 5.

#astrophotography #astronomy #astroatlas

La Nebulosa del Corazón (IC 1805), también conocida como Sharpless 2-190, se encuentra a unos 7500 años luz de distancia y se encuentra en el brazo de Perseo de la Vía Láctea en la constelación de Casiopea. Fue descubierta por William Herschel el 3 de noviembre de 1787.

Es una nebulosa de emisión con gas hidrógeno ionizado brillante y líneas de polvo más oscuras. Tiene 100 años luz de diámetro.

Su morfología son impulsadas por la radiación que emana de un pequeño grupo de estrellas cerca del centro de la nebulosa. Este cúmulo abierto de estrellas, conocido como Collinder 26 o Melotte 15, contiene algunas estrellas brillantes de casi 50 veces la masa de nuestro Sol, y muchas más estrellas tenues que son solo una fracción de la masa de nuestro Sol.

En el borde superior derecho se encuentra la nebulosa cabeza de pez (NGC 896) , una zona de formación de estrellas y emisión de Hidrógeno ionizado situada a 6000 años luz.

Datos técnicos:

Telescopio WO FLT 91 (x0.8 WO R/A 6aIII)

Cámara Canon 6 d modificada

Filtro L_extreme

2.30h ISO 3200

Bortle3

Procesado Pixinsight en paleta SHO

PS

The Heart Nebula (IC 1805), also known as Sharpless 2-190, is located about 7,500 light years away and is located in the Perseus arm of the Milky Way in the constellation Cassiopeia. It was discovered by William Herschel on November 3, 1787. It is an emission nebula with bright ionized hydrogen gas and darker dust lines. It is 100 light years in diameter.

Their morphology is driven by radiation emanating from a small group of stars near the center of the nebula. This open star cluster, known as Collinder 26 or Melotte 15, contains some bright stars nearly 50 times the mass of our Sun, and many more faint stars that are only a fraction of the mass of our Sun. In the upper right border is the Fishhead Nebula (NGC 896), a zone of star formation and ionized hydrogen emission located 6000 light years away. Technical data: WO FLT 91 Telescope (x0.8 WO R / F 6aIII)

Modified Canon 6 d camera

L_extreme filter 2.30h ISO 3200 Bortle3 Pixinsight processing on SHO palette

PS

Technical Information:

Telescope: AIRY APO 130T PrimaLuceLab

Mount: Paramount MyT - Software Bisque

Camera: QHYCCD QHY9

Filter: Optolong H-a 7nm, OIII 6.5nm, SII 6.5nm

Frames: H-a: 40x900s -- OIII: 46x900s -- SII: 36x900s

Total Integration: 30.5 Hours

Software: SGP – TheSkyX – PHD2 – DSS – PixInsight – CS6

Location: AstroAtlas Observatory - Noventa di Piave (Venice) 4 meter above sea level – ITALY

Environment Temperature: About 23°C

Relative Humidity: 90%

Date: 11.09.20 - 12.09.20 - 13.09.20 - 14.09.20 - 15.09.20 - 17.09.20

This is my last picture taken from the AstroAtlas Observatory situated in Noventa di Piave (ITALY); The image shows IC1795 and NGC896 in Hubble Palette Technique.

I have been really impressed from the various colors that came out from this photo. I really love this mix, especially the part of the OIII.

I hope you like it and clear skies!

AstroBin: astrob.in/v9qtda/0/

NOTE: The image was acquired from a polluted sky with high humidity - Bortle 5.

#astrophotography #astronomy #astroatlas

The Heart Nebula (IC 1805) lies about 7,500 light years away from Earth in the Perseus Arm of the Galaxy in the constellation Cassiopeia. The brightest part of the nebula (a knot at its western edge) is separately classified as NGC 896, because it was the first part of the nebula to be discovered. The nebula's intense red output and its morphology are driven by the radiation emanating from a small group of stars near the nebula's center. This open cluster of stars, known as Melotte 15, contains a few bright stars nearly 50 times the mass of our Sun, and many more dim stars that are only a fraction of our Sun's mass. The Heart Nebula is located adjacent to the Soul Nebula forming a view referred to as the Heart and Soul Nebula.

Tech Specs: Williams Optics Redcat, Sky-Watcher EQ6R-Pro mount, Optolong L-eNhance 2" filter, ZWO ASI2600MC-P camera, 30 x 300 seconds at -10C with darks from the library and flats taken the next morning, guided using a ZWO 30mm f/4 mini guide scope and ZWO 120 Mini. Captured using ZWO AAP and processed using PixInsight. Autofocus using the ProAstroGear Black-CAT and ZWO EAF. Image date: September 26, 2021. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA (Bortle Class 4).

The Heart Nebula (aka IC 1805) at right, and the Soul Nebula (aka IC 1848) at left, in Cassiopeia. The round nebula at top right is NGC 896. The star cluster at right embedded in the Heart Nebula is NGC 1027. Shot from home in Alberta on November 21, 2019.

This is a stack of 16 images, half of the set shot through a light pollution reduction filter to suppress sky background and enhance the colours of the nebulas, particularly in the red end of the spectrum from H-alpha emission. The eight filtered shots are all 8-minute exposures with the Canon EOS Ra mirrorless camera at ISO 1600, and through the Borg 77mm f/4 astrographic refractor at f/4 with an IDAS LPSv3 filter in place.

The 8 unfiltered shots are all 8-minute exposures as well but at ISO 800 (with no filter the images require less exposure) and with the same camera and scope but without the IDAS filter for a set of “natural light” images. Blending the two versions provides the benefit of the enhanced nebulosity of the filter but the better colour balance of the unfiltered shots.

The EOS Ra camera features a factory-modified IR block filter that transmits a higher level of the red H-alpha visible light, making such a photo possible. The additional IDAS filter does bring out the fainter parts of the nebulas but tends to make the nebulas quite “in-your-face” red, rather than present a more balanced look with magenta and blues adding to the colour. This was shot from a fairly dark rural site, so the IDAS filter wasn’t essential for urban sky glow suppression but for nebula enhancement.

All images aligned and stacked in Photoshop 2020. We don’t need no Deep Sky Stacker.

The Heart Nebula IC1805 (Sharpless 2-190 )

An emission nebula located 7500 light-years away in the constellation of Casseiopeia. At the center is Melotte-15

4 panel mosaic

HA- 15x120 sec each panel

OIII- 15x120 sec each panel

SII- 15x120 sec each panel

6h

QHY163M

11" Celestron EdgeHD w/Hyperstar (F/2)

Orion HDX-110

The Heart Nebula NGC896

Captured last night with quite a bit of moonlight. Not much of a problem with my new Optolong L-eXtreme filter purchased from @teleskop_service

5min lights with the ZWO ASI 294MC, 2h40m total.

iOptron iEQ45pro

William Optics ZS61

Collecting more data tonight 😎

#heartnebula #herznebel #ngc896 #astro #astronomie #astronomy #astrofotografie #astrophotography #dso #dsophotography #nightsky #stars #sterne #zwoasi294mcpro @optolongfilter #lextreme #bavaria #astrogeek #pfaffenhofen #backyardastronomy #backyardastrophotography

A framing of some of the main star clusters (and some nebulas) in Cassiopeia and Perseus, in a wide-field image.

At left are the Heart and Soul Nebulas in Cassiopeia, aka IC 1805 and IC 1848 respectively plus the smaller and more intense patch of nebulosity NGC 896. With these nebulas are the star clusters NGC 1027 and Mel 15. At bottom is the famous Double Cluster, NGCs 884 and 869. The small cluster NGC 957 is to the left of the Double Cluster. At upper right below the line joining the two bright stars in Cassiopeia is the prominent star cluster NGC 663, with NGC 654 above and M103 to the right. The reddened object left of NGC 663 is the cluster IC 166. At far right is NGC 457, the ET Cluster.

This is a stack of 15 x 2-minute tracked but unguided exposures with the Canon EF135mm lens at f/2.8 and Canon Ra at ISO 1250, with a NISI Natural Night broadband filter on the lens to enhance the nebulosity. Taken from home on a very clear night September 20, 2022. Taken with the Star Adventurer GTi tracker/equatorial mount as part of testing the mount.

This is a wide field image of the region of Perseus and Cassiopeia containing the bright Double Cluster at bottom left, and the large emission nebulas known as the Heart and Soul Nebulas at top. The Heart Nebula at right is IC 1805; the Soul Nebula (aka Embryo Nebula) at top left is IC 1848. The bright detached nebula at right is NGC 896. Also in the image to the right of the Double Cluster is the large scattered star cluster, Stock 2, the Muscle Man Cluster, barely standing out from the Milky Way background here. The compact star cluster above the Double Cluster is NGC 957. Despite the poor sky conditions, the small, reddened Local Group galaxies, Maffei 1 and 2 are visible above centre amid the dark lanes of interstellar dust.

This is a stack of 9 x 8-minute exposures at ISO 1600 with the Canon EOS Ra through the William Optics RedCat 51mm f/4.9 astrograph. This was on the Sky-Watcher EQM-35 mount as a test of the combination, and guided with the ZWO ASIAir and ZWO guidescope, which worked fine until the cold killed the iPad (despite it being plugged in). Placing the iPad inside worked for a while but the weak WiFi from the ASIAir made the iPad lose the connection and revert to my home WiFi, again stopping the guiding. However, the small mount guided quite well when the autoguider worked!

Clouds were also coming and going and prevented more images and any taking through a nebula filter — these are all unfiltered. Some light cloud in some frames add the star glows, and so I added a mild Orton Effect with Luminar 4 to purposely add a further soft glow “look” to the image, and which also punches up the nebulosity.

North is to the top right here, in this image framed at an angle from the usual N-S, E-W orientation to take in the nebulas and clusters. The graduated scale on the RedCat’s camera angle adjuster helped in the framing.

Taken from home under duress (equipment and sky issues!) October 12, 2020. Indeed, I was surprised to get even these frames to make a passable image.

This is the pair of emission nebulas in Cassiopeia known as the Heart (upper right) and Soul (lower left) Nebulas, here recorded in monochrome shot through a deep-red filter to isolate the Hydrogen-alpha wavelength to allow shooting of the faint nebulas on a bright moonlit night. The Soul, aka Embryo, Nehula is officially IC 1848, while the Heart Nebula is IC 1805. The brightest portion at upper right is NGC 896 and IC 1795.

The Moon was a bright waxing gibbous this night, setting toward the end of the 4 hours of shooting when frames did get much darker.

This is a stack of 18 x 16-minute exposures at ISO 3200 through an Astronomik 12nm H-alpha clip-in filter inserted into the Canon EOS Ra camera, and shooting through the SharpStar 76mm apo refractor at f/4.4 with its field flattener reducer. Auto-guided with the MGEN3 guider and dithered from frame to frame to average out the thermal noise hot pixels which were abundant with such long exposures at a high ISO, despite this being a cool night. No LENR or darks applied. Nebulosity brought out via luminosity masks created with Lumenzia. Some colour grading applied to give the image a slight colour tone. High Pass Sharpen and TKActions Soft Pop action applied to the nebulas for added edge contrast.

NGC896 Fish Head Nebula in Narrowband Hubble Palette.

All imaging took place at my remote observatory at e-EyE, Spain.

This image comprises 60 hours of exposures in 120 exposures in total, each 30 minutes long, as a 2-panel mosaic.

SII = (20 x 1800s) x 2

HA = (20 x 1800s) x 2

OIII = (20 x 1800s) x 2

Equipment and software used:

Mount: Avalon M-Uno

Telescope: Altair Astro 8" RC

Camera: QSI 660wsg-8

Autoguider: Starlight Xpress Lodestar X2

Filters: Astrodon Sulphur-II 3nm, Hydrogen-Alpha 3nm and Oxygen-III 3nm

Capture Software: Sequence Generator Pro and PHD2

Processing Software: PixInsight

Skywatcher ed 80 f/7.5

Atik 314L+ mono

Guiding camera QHY 5L-II mono

Filter Ha Baader 7nm

Exposure Ha 150min

BIN 1x1

21-10-2017

Location Grammatiko, Attika, Greece

There were hydrogen-alpha emissions widely in the area.

Equipment: Sigma 105mmF1.4 Art, IDAS NB12 dual narrowband Filter, and EOS R6-SP5, modified by Seo San on Vixen AXD Equatorial Mount, autoguided with Fujinon 1:2.8/75mm C-Mount Lens, Pentax x2 Extender, ZWO ASI 174MM-mini, and PHD2 Guiding

Exposure: 14 times x 900 seconds, 6 x 240sec, and 8 x 60 seconds at ISO 6,400 and f/3.0

site: 1,466m above sea level at lat. 35 48 26 North and long. 138 39 24 East near Kotokawa dam in Yamanashi. 山梨県牧丘柳平琴川ダム

Ambient temperature was low down to 1 degree Celsius or 34 degrees Fahrenheit. Wind was mild. SQML reached 21.29 at the night. Seeing was awful as usual in this season at the night, and guide error RMS was 2.25.

There were hydrogen-alpha emissions widely in the area.

Equipment: Sigma 105mmF1.4 Art, IDAS NB12 dual narrowband Filter, and EOS R6-SP5, modified by Seo San on Vixen AXD Equatorial Mount, autoguided with Fujinon 1:2.8/75mm C-Mount Lens, Pentax x2 Extender, ZWO ASI 174MM-mini, and PHD2 Guiding

Exposure: 14 times x 900 seconds, 6 x 240sec, and 8 x 60 seconds at ISO 6,400 and f/3.0

site: 1,466m above sea level at lat. 35 48 26 North and long. 138 39 24 East near Kotokawa dam in Yamanashi. 山梨県牧丘柳平琴川ダム

Ambient temperature was low down to 1 degree Celsius or 34 degrees Fahrenheit. Wind was mild. SQML reached 21.29 at the night. Seeing was awful as usual in this season at the night, and guide error RMS was 2.25.

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 the ZWO ASI2600MC Pro camera, on an AM5 mount with ASIAir Plus. Processed with PixInsight + Affinity Photo 2.

This is the Starless SHO palette colours. Please see the HOO with stars here: flic.kr/p/2qg6dbf

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

I hope you like it and perhaps be inspired to spend some time imaging and/or admiring 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.

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.

Canon EOS 600Dfs, Samyang 135 mm f/2, F/2.8, ISO-1600, 52x120s on Astrotrac, APP & Adobe Photoshop CC 2020

I put a wideband frame taken in Hawaii 2012 on a dual narrowband starless frame. Color got richer especially on stars and reflection nebula. This is the final version of the series.

on wide band frame:

Here is the original frame:

www.flickr.com/photos/hiroc/9190846764

equipment: Takahashi FSQ-106ED, Reducer QE 0.73x, and Canon EOS 5Dmk2-sp2 by Seo-san at ISO 1,600 on Takahashi EM-200 temma 2Jr, autoguided with hiro-design off-axis guider, StarlightXpress Lodestar autoguider, and PHD Guiding

exposure: 4 times x 30 minutes, 4 x 15 minutes, 4 x 4 min, and 4 x 1 minute

Location: 11,000 feet above sea level near MLO, Mauna Loa Observatory on the shoulder of Mauna Loa in the Big Island, Hawaii

on dual narrow band frame:

Here is the original frame:

www.flickr.com/photos/hiroc/55059508929

Equipment: Takahashi FSQ-130ED, F3 Reducer 0.6x, IDAS NB12 dual narrowband Filter, and EOS R-SP4II, modified by Seo San on Vixen AXD Equatorial Mount, autoguided with Fujinon 1:2.8/75mm C-Mount Lens, Pentax x2 Extender, ZWO ASI 174MM-mini, and PHD2 Guiding

Exposure: 14 times x 900 seconds, 6 x 240sec, and 8 x 60 seconds at ISO 6,400 and f/3.0, focal length 390mm

site: 1,466m above sea level at lat. 35 48 26 North and long. 138 39 24 East near Kotokawa dam in Yamanashi. 山梨県牧丘柳平琴川ダム

Ambient temperature was low down to 1 degree Celsius or 34 degrees Fahrenheit. Wind was mild. SQML reached 21.29 at the night. Seeing was awful as usual in this season at the night, and guide error RMS was 2.25.

The Soul Nebula is an emission nebula located in Cassiopeia, 6,500 lightyears away. It is a cloud of cosmic gas and dust 150 lightyears wide that's being illuminated and carved by powerful streams of charged particles emanating from an open cluster of stars.

This image of the Soul Nebula completes my project to image the three main nebulae in the same region. The Heart Nebula (IC1805) flic.kr/p/2qgwVE8, The Fish Head Nebula (NGC896) flic.kr/p/2qg6dbf and the Soul Nebula.

Starless version here: flic.kr/p/2qkE9hs

The weather has not been great over the last month, but I managed to get close to 26 hours integration time over 5 separate nights.

Equipment:

* William Optics FLT132 with the FLAT8 0.72x reducer.

* ZWO ASI2600MC Pro cooled camera with 2 narrowband/dualband filters: Optolong L-Ultimate 3nm Ha & Oiii, and Antlia 5nm Ha & Oiii.

* ZWO AM5 mount with ASIAir Plus.

* Processed with PixInsight and Affinity Photo 2

More integration and acquisition information in my Astrobin page: astrob.in/jjjpim/0/

Thanks for looking.

Clear Skies

This is the complex of nebulosity in Cassiopeia popularly known as the Heart and Soul Nebulas, the "heart" being on the upper right. The "soul" at lower left is also known as the Embryo Nebula. Officially they are IC 1805 (Heart) and IC 1848 (Soul). The extended round nebula off the upper right edge of the Heart is NGC 896, with IC 1795 attached to it at the extreme upper right corner.

Lots of other bits of nebulosity in the field carry labels from the second Stewart Sharpless catalogue —

- Sh2-196 is the isolated round nebula at upper left, with Sh2-192 a small round nebula to the right.

- Sh2-201 is the detached bit off the left side of the Soul.

- Sh2-198 is the detached bit off the bottom of the Soul.

Several star clusters inhabit the field, most embedded in the nebulas and helping to light them up —

- Melotte 15 is a loose group on the right side (ventricle?) of the Heart.

- NGC 1027 is the bright group to the left of the Heart.

- Collinder 32 is embedded in the right side of the Soul.

- Collinder 33 and 34 are in the left side of the Soul, but don't stand out here.

Oddly, two galaxies are also here embedded in the field despite it being in the Milky Way —

- At bottom right is a small yellow fuzzy object that is the dust-reddened irregular galaxy Maffei 1.

- While Maffei 2 is a dim and very small amorphous patch to the left of Maffei 1.

Technical:

This is a blend of filtered and unfiltered exposures —

- A stack of 15 x 6-minutes at ISO 1600 with just an Astronomik UV-IR Cut filter, for the stars and base core nebulosity (the pinker bits).

- A stack of 15 x 8-minutes at ISO 3200 with an IDAS NBZ dual-narrowband filter, for the majority of reddish nebulosity.

- So 3.5 hours of exposure in total.

- All with the Askar SQA85 astrographic refractor at its native f/4.8 and with the astro-modified Canon EOS R camera.

- On the ZWO AM5 harmonic drive mount, autoguided with the ASIAir Mini and ASI120mm autoguider camera.

Stacked, aligned, blended and processed in Photoshop 2026. Stars eliminated from the narrowband filter stack with RC-Astro StarXTerminator plug-in. Processed to bring out the more subtle variations in colours in the nebulas, so they do not appear as just monochromatic red.

Taken from home in Alberta on a very fine, if frosty, night November 18/19, 2025.

I've added another two and a half hours of data to this image and it still needs more. I pushed this image quite a bit, maybe to much, to show some of the detail and color that came up with the added data.

I would like to add more, we'll have to see what the weather is going to be like before the moon is in the sky again.

lights-4.5 hours of exposures- ISO 800

Darks and bios frames used.

Sky-Watcher Black Diamond ED80, 600 mm refactor. 0.85x Focal Reducer/Corrector

HEQ5 Pro German Equatorial GoTo Mount

Nikon D700

Processing: Deep Sky Stacker, Pixinsight LE, Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom

Nebulosa diffusa in associazione ad un ammasso aperto, nella costellazione di Cassiopea

7500 A.L.

telescopius.com/pictures/view/234110/deep_sky/ngc-896/neb...

Acquisizione: 36 scatti da 300sec. + (25 Dark - 35 Flat - 25 Bias) - Dithering

Integrazione complessiva: 3 ore

Guadagno: 100

Temp. Camera: 0°C

Temp. Ambiente: 20°C

Bortle: 8

- Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC Air

- Tubo: Newton Tecnosky 600mm F4

- Correttore di coma Artesky 0.95x

- Filtro Banda Larga SVBony SV240

- Montatura: Skywatcher EQ AL55i Pro

- ASIAIR: Gestione/Acquisizione

- PIXINSIGHT & GRAXPERT: Allineamento, Somma, correzione gradienti e riduzione rumore

- PHOTOSHOP: Sviluppo finale

This past week I've been testing some software to assist SX squishing an annoying bug affecting their AO unit, when used with a QSI camera.

I hate to waste photons though, so despite the bright moon and objectionable transparency conditions, I've managed to put together something workable.

This is an SHO representation.

Exposure times as follows:

Ha (5nm): 18 x 30m

OIII (3nm): 19 x 30m

SII (3nm): 25 x 30m

Total exposure time: 31 hours

Main Camera: QSI 583 WSG

Guide Camera: SX Lodestar (on OAG)

Mount: Astro-Physics Mach 1

Scope: Celestron Edge HD 8" (FL: 2171mm)

Adaptive Optics Unit: SXV-AO-LF

Image Aquisition software MaximDL

Registed, Calibrated, Stacked and Post Processed with PixInsight 1.8

The Heart Nebula - once more.

Better weather today, but still not ideal. Added another 22 lightframes and 15 darks. 420s, ISO1600 (plus the 10 lights from a couple of days ago with 360s). So this is a good 3h worth of data. EOS 700Da, William Optics ZS61, iOptron iEQ45pro.

#astrofotografie #astrophotography #astro #deepsky #heartandsoul #heartnebula #ngc896 #nightphotography #night #nacht #nachthimmel #cassiopeia #sterne #stars #heart #herznebel #astronomy #astronomie #ioptronieq45 #ioptron #williamoptics #zs61 #zenithstar #canon #eos700d #eos700da #canon #deepskystacker

The large emission nebula IC 1805 in Cassiopeia, aka the Heart Nebula. The round nebula at top right is NGC 896. The large loose star cluster at centre is Mel 15; the star cluster at left is NGC 1027. The small cluster below NGC 896 is Tombaugh 4.

This is a stack of 8 x 6-minute exposures with the new Canon EOS Ra mirrorless camera at ISO 1600 as part of testing, and through the Astro-Physics Traveler apo refractor at f/6 with the Hotech field flattener. Stacked, aligned and processed in Photoshop.

See my “first look” review at Sky and Telescope magazine at www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-equipment/first-look-ca... for details.

I reprocessed this image and was able to get more of the faint dusty areas to come out and I also changed the color temperature a little.

lights-2 hours and 28 min of exposures- ISO 800

Darks-15

Bios- 19

Sky-Watcher Black Diamond ED80, 600 mm refactor. 0.85x Focal Reducer/Corrector

HEQ5 Pro German Equatorial GoTo Mount

Nikon D700

Processing: Deep Sky Stacker, Pixinsight LE, Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom

I put wide band frame taken in Hawaii 2009 on dual narrow band starless frame. Color got richer. This is the final version of the series.

There were hydrogen-alpha emissions widely in the area.

on wide band frame taken in Hawaii 2009:

Here is the original frame:

www.flickr.com/photos/hiroc/4082414049

equipment: Apo-EL-Nikkor 105mmF5.6 at F5.6 and EOS 5Dmk2-sp2 on EM-200 temma 2 Jr. autoguided with hiro-design off-axis guider, Starlight Xpress Lodestar, and PHD guiding

exposure: 11 times x 15 minutes, 6 x 8 min, 6 x 4 min, 6 x 2 min, 6 x 1 minute

site: 11,000 feet above sea level at lat. 19 32 31 North and long. 155 34 2 West near MLO, Mauna Loa Observatory, Big Island Hawaii

Here is a panorama view taken at the site in 2009:

www.flickr.com/photos/hiroc/3844429509

on dual narrow band frame:

Here is the original frame:

www.flickr.com/photos/hiroc/55065339637

Equipment: Sigma 105mmF1.4 Art, IDAS NB12 dual narrowband Filter, and EOS R6-SP5, modified by Seo San on Vixen AXD Equatorial Mount, autoguided with Fujinon 1:2.8/75mm C-Mount Lens, Pentax x2 Extender, ZWO ASI 174MM-mini, and PHD2 Guiding

Exposure: 14 times x 900 seconds, 6 x 240sec, and 8 x 60 seconds at ISO 6,400 and f/3.0

site: 1,466m above sea level at lat. 35 48 26 North and long. 138 39 24 East near Kotokawa dam in Yamanashi. 山梨県牧丘柳平琴川ダム

Ambient temperature was low down to 1 degree Celsius or 34 degrees Fahrenheit. Wind was mild. SQML reached 21.29 at the night. Seeing was awful as usual in this season at the night, and guide error RMS was 2.25.

Melotte 15 or NGC896, an open cluster of stars is found in the center of the Heart Nebula IC1805 that lies some 7500 light years away from Earth and is located in the Perseus Arm of our galaxy within Cassiopeia. This structure was actually discovered before the Heart Nebula primarily because it is much brighter than the surrounding area. The central part of the nebula's intense output is powered by the radiation emanating from a small group of stars near the nebula's center. This open cluster of stars known as Melotte 15 contains a few bright stars nearly 50 times the mass of our Sun, and many more dim stars that are only a fraction of our Sun's mass.

Acquisition Date: 12/28/2013

Camera: SBIG ST8300M @ -15°C

Telescope Stellarvue SV105T (f/7)

Mount: Astro-Physics AP1100

Guidescope: William Optics 50mm f/4 guiding/finderscope

Guide Camera: SBIG STi-M

Filters:(Astrodon)

-Hydrogen Alpha (3 nm Ha): 4 x 15min (60min)

Limiting Magnitude: 5.1

Comments: Stellarvue SFF7-21 field flattener.

Processed in PixInsight 1.8 and Adobe Photoshop CS5

I Had a tough time with this one. I had to do allot of processing to get where it is now. I got almost two and a half hours of data but it still isn't enough to show the true magnificence of this nebula, It's an object that needs to be shot under a dark country sky. I shot this from my backyard which has allot of light pollution.

lights-2 hours and 28 min of exposures- ISO 800

Darks-15

Bios- 19

Sky-Watcher Black Diamond ED80, 600 mm refactor. 0.85x Focal Reducer/Corrector

HEQ5 Pro German Equatorial GoTo Mount

Nikon D700

Processing: Deep Sky Stacker, Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom

Equipment: Takahashi FSQ-130ED, F3 Reducer 0.6x, IDAS NB12 dual narrowband Filter, and EOS R-SP4II, modified by Seo San on Vixen AXD Equatorial Mount, autoguided with Fujinon 1:2.8/75mm C-Mount Lens, Pentax x2 Extender, ZWO ASI 174MM-mini, and PHD2 Guiding

Exposure: 14 times x 900 seconds, 6 x 240sec, and 8 x 60 seconds at ISO 6,400 and f/3.0, focal length 390mm

site: 1,466m above sea level at lat. 35 48 26 North and long. 138 39 24 East near Kotokawa dam in Yamanashi. 山梨県牧丘柳平琴川ダム

Ambient temperature was low down to 1 degree Celsius or 34 degrees Fahrenheit. Wind was mild. SQML reached 21.29 at the night. Seeing was awful as usual in this season at the night, and guide error RMS was 2.25.

NGC 896 SHO

This false color image of NCG 896, in the Heart Nebula, is sometime called the Fish Head nebula. It is some 7500 light years from earth in the Cassiopeia constellation. The data was collected over five nights and combined in the SHO pallet. This assigns the Sii wavelength, a deep red, to the red channel, The Ha wavelength, a bright red, to the green channel, and the Oiii wavelength, a blue-green, to the blue channel.

The Fish Head Nebula contains a star forming region.

60x420s SII

42x300s Ha

83x300s Oiii

Data Collected Oct 18 -22, 2019 from Ridgecrest CA.

Telescope: Orion 8" f/3.9 Newtonian.

Mount Orion Atlas Pro Az/Eq-G

Guide Camera ZWO ASI120MC-S

60x225mm Guide Scope

Camera ZWO ASI 1600MM-Pro

Zwo Filters

Captured with N.I.N.A. PHD2 and Processed with Pix Insight.

The Heart Nebula, IC 1805, in Cassiopeia, from Austin, Texas on 2021-09-23 10:25 UT.. WO RedCat 250/51mm, Optolong L-eNhance NB Filter, ZWO ASI533 MC Pro cooled camera -10 C, SW AZ-EQ5 Pro mount, ZWO ASIAIR Pro controller. Four hours of exposure 83x3min. PixInsight, Noise/Blur/StarEXterminator, GHS, and Photoshop processing.

I put 60-second and 240-second frames on starless frame. The process made stars smaller and dust and gas enhanced. I feel this version a bit unnatural, because dark stars got invisible too much, though dust and gas were kept visible clearly.

Equipment: Takahashi FSQ-130ED, F3 Reducer 0.6x, IDAS NB12 dual narrowband Filter, and EOS R-SP4II, modified by Seo San on Vixen AXD Equatorial Mount, autoguided with Fujinon 1:2.8/75mm C-Mount Lens, Pentax x2 Extender, ZWO ASI 174MM-mini, and PHD2 Guiding

Exposure: 14 times x 900 seconds, 6 x 240sec, and 8 x 60 seconds at ISO 6,400 and f/3.0, focal length 390mm

site: 1,466m above sea level at lat. 35 48 26 North and long. 138 39 24 East near Kotokawa dam in Yamanashi. 山梨県牧丘柳平琴川ダム

Ambient temperature was low down to 1 degree Celsius or 34 degrees Fahrenheit. Wind was mild. SQML reached 21.29 at the night. Seeing was awful as usual in this season at the night, and guide error RMS was 2.25.

Combined exposure: 6h 42min.

Stacked frames - Lights:412, Darks:51, Flats:60, Bias:52

Gear: Skywatcher AC 80/400 StarTravel + CLS DeepSky Filter. Pentax K-50.

Software: DeepSkyStacker, StarTools ja Photoshop.

✨ Heart Nebula (IC 1805) Overview The Heart Nebula, officially designated IC 1805, is a vast emission nebula located about 7,500 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia. Named for its striking resemblance to a human heart, this celestial cloud glows intensely red due to ionized hydrogen gas energized by a cluster of young, massive stars at its core known as Melotte 152.

🌌 Key Features

Type: Emission nebula (H II region)

Distance: ~7,500 light-years

Size: Spans about 150 arcminutes—roughly four times the diameter of the full Moon

Core Cluster: Melotte 15, containing stars up to 50 times the mass of the Sun

Colouration: Rich reds from hydrogen, with blues and oranges from ionised oxygen and sulfur.

Center (RA, hms): 02h 33m 18.552s

Center (Dec, dms): +61d eg 22' 27.823"

Size: 47.1 x 46.9 arcmin

Radius: 0.554 deg

Pixel scale: 1.01 arcsec/pixel

### Session Log: January 9, 2024

- Target: Heart/Fish Head Nebula (NGC 896)

- Location: Havant, UK

- Telescope: Skywatcher Evostar 120mm, Skywatcher 0.85x reducer flattener, f6.375, 768mm

- Mount: iOptron CEM40g

- Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI533MM Pro

- Gain: 101, (Offset: 70 if one is used)

- Temp: -10°C (cooled)

- Subframes:

- Ha : 50 x 300s

- R: 66 x 90s

-G: 55 x 90s

- B: 50 x 90s

- Calibration frames:

- BIAS:

- Flats:

- Darks:

- Dark flats

- Filters: ZWO Ha, ZWO Red, ZWO Blue, ZWO Green

- Guiding: iOptron iGuider f4 integrated to the mount, dither every 5 frames

- Accessories: Primalucelab Eagle 5, Primalucelab ECCO, Primalucelab ESATTO, Primalucelab ARCO, Primaluce lab ALTO/GIOTTO

- Environmental: Bortle 5

- Software: Primalucelab Eagle Manager, N.I.N.A, PHD2

- Notes: No notes from the session, no calibration frames were taken on the night, the plan was to use the pre-done catalogue.

📚 Software & Processing Summary:

- Stacking: Starpx.com

- Processing: Starpx.com with the enhanced further processed in Pixinsight to bring out the nebulosity

- Final Editing: Photoshop with colour correction and crop

This is the constellation of Cassiopeia, with the "W" stars at bottom, framed to include most of the star clusters and nebulas in the constellation. And it's a lot in this part of the Milky Way!

For nebulas — At bottom left is the Heart Nebula, IC 1805, with the smaller round NGC 896 nebula attached. For this framing to work I had to cut off the companion Soul Nebula which lies off frame at lower left. At top is the arc of NGC 7822 and below it brighter Cederblad 214, though technically those lie across the border in Cepheus. Below Ced214 is the small round Sharpless 2-170, with the trio forming what's become known as the Question Mark. At upper right is the Bubble Nebula, NGC 7635 and the faint Sharpless 2-157 and small intense NGC 7538. At bottom is the Pacman Nebula, NGC 281. Below centre near the star Gamma Cassiopeiae or Navi are the blue reflection nebulas IC 59 and IC 63, aka the Ghost of Cassiopeia, though diffuse emission nebulosity pervades the region. A subtle blue reflection nebula, van denBurgh 1, lies below Beta Cassiopeiae or Caph at right.

For star clusters – at lower left along the left side of the W are NGC 663 (most prominent) and the smaller M103, NGC 654, and IC 166 clusters. At centre to the left of the Pacman is NGC 457, the Owl Cluster or ET Cluster. At far right is NGC 7789, aka Caroline's Rose, and at top right is Messier 52. The loose concentration of stars at upper left is Collinder 463. So for all the area's richness in deep-sky objects there are only two Messier objects here, M52 and M103, and the latter is pretty poor. How he missed the other better clusters is a mystery.

Dust along this area of the Milky Way yellows the star fields and provides the subtle but contrasting colours of the background sky. It dims the odd object in this field, the Local Group galaxy IC 10 visible as a tiny smudge left and below Caph.

This is a stack of 20 x 2-minute exposures with the rare Samyang RF85mm lens at f/2.8 and on the filter-modified Canon R at ISO 800. The lens was equipped with a broadband NISI Natural Night light pollution reduction filter to help bring out the nebulosity.

In processing applications of luminosity masked curves, a Nebula Filter action from PK Actions, and a Detail Extractor filter from Nik Collection Color EFX also helped enhance the nebulosity. The camera was on the little Star Adventurer Mini tracker which worked perfectly - every frame was well tracked with no trailing. Taken from home on a very clear night Sept 21/22, 2023. All stacking and blending in Photoshop.

I put 60-second and 240-second frames on starless frame. The process made stars smaller and dust and gas enhanced. I feel this version a bit unnatural, because dark stars got invisible too much, though dust and gas were kept visible clearly.

Equipment: Takahashi FSQ-130ED, F3 Reducer 0.6x, IDAS NB12 dual narrowband Filter, and EOS R-SP4II, modified by Seo San on Vixen AXD Equatorial Mount, autoguided with Fujinon 1:2.8/75mm C-Mount Lens, Pentax x2 Extender, ZWO ASI 174MM-mini, and PHD2 Guiding

Exposure: 14 times x 900 seconds, 6 x 240sec, and 8 x 60 seconds at ISO 6,400 and f/3.0, focal length 390mm

site: 1,466m above sea level at lat. 35 48 26 North and long. 138 39 24 East near Kotokawa dam in Yamanashi. 山梨県牧丘柳平琴川ダム

Ambient temperature was low down to 1 degree Celsius or 34 degrees Fahrenheit. Wind was mild. SQML reached 21.29 at the night. Seeing was awful as usual in this season at the night, and guide error RMS was 2.25.