The Heart & Soul Nebulae
====================

This is my biggest imaging project so far, I never worked with this much data before. It’s a mosaic of my recent captures of the Heart and Soul Nebulae, combined with even more data from 2024. All in all, this is a stack of 317 subs of 300s, adding up to a total exposure time of 26hrs and 25min.

Processing wasn’t easy - different kinds of multiband filters were involved, gradients overlayed each sub-stack, adding up to merge artifacts in the final mosaic. Besides that, the resolution is enormous, leading to longer processing times. I spent about 2hrs for the stacking and additional 3hrs for processing and development.

Scope: Askar 103APO
Lens: Askar 0.6x Reducer
Camera: Canon EOS 6Da
Filter: Antlia TriBand RGB Ultra, Altair TriBand
Mount: Skywatcher AZ-EQ5 GT
Guiding: Svbony SV165 Guide Scope with ZWO ASI 224MC
Controller: ZWO ASIAir Pro

Integration time: 26hrs 25min

Full version and print available at: https://adfr.io/astro/20250506_heart_and_soul

#astrophotography #astrophoto #astrophotographer #deepsky #deepskyphotography #deepskyobject #deepskyastrophotography #soulnebula #heartnebula

The Soul Nebula
============
This emission nebula, usually referred to as the soul or baby nebula, is located in the cassiopeia constellation as the eastern neighbor to IC1805. the heart nebula.

Multiple smaller open clusters are embedded into the nebula - CR 34, CR 632 and CR 634.

Scope: Askar 103APO
Lens: Askar 0.6x Reducer
Camera: Canon EOS 6Da
Filter: Antlia TriBand RGB Ultra
Mount: Skywatcher AZ-EQ5 GT
Guiding: Svbony SV165 Guide Scope with ZWO ASI 224MC
Controller: ZWO ASIAir Pro

Integration time: 4hrs 50min

Full version and print available at: https://adfr.io/astro/20250404_ic1848

#astrophotography #astrophoto #astrophotographer #deepsky #deepskyphotography #deepskyobject #deepskyastrophotography #soulnebula

The Heart and Soul Nebulae
=====================

Located approximately 6000 light years away from Earth, these two nebulae form a vast star-forming complex, spanning around 300 light years in diameter. As part of the Perseus arm of the Milky Way galaxy, they are rich in interstellar gas and dust, providing a fertile ground for star formation.

The image is a HOO composition, mapping emissions of hydrogen alpha gas to the red channel, while oxygen III emissions are mapped to the green and blue channels. This results in a colorful representation of the nebulae's different emissions.

At the center of the Heart Nebula (IC 1805), an open cluster of young stars, known as Melotte 15, is located. These stars, some of them up to 50 times more massive than our sun, are ionizing the surrounding gas, causing it to glow.

The nebulae's proximity to Earth and their richness in star-forming material make them an exciting target for astronomers studying the processes of star birth and evolution.

Scope: Askar 103APO
Lens: Askar 0.6x Reducer
Camera: Canon EOS 6Da
Filter: Altair Tri-Band
Mount: Skywatcher AZ-EQ5-GT
Guiding: Svbony SV165 with ZWO ASI224MC
Controller: ZWO ASIAir Pro

Integration time: 6hrs 20min

Full version and print available at https://adfr.io

#astrophotography #astrophoto #narrowband #narrowbandimaging #deepsky #deepskyobjects #deepskyphotography #widefield #nightsky #nightskyphotography #nightskyart #heartnebula #soulnebula #IC1795 #IC1805 #IC1824 #IC1848 #NGC896 #NGC1027 #Melotte15