At the heart of this image lies the Shark Nebula, nestled in the constellation Cepheus, a Northern celestial display that graces the night sky prominently throughout the summer months.
Classified as a dark nebula, the Shark Nebula is characterized by dense interstellar dust clouds, capable of absorbing a substantial portion of the starlight that traverses its depths.
Photographing such nebulae presents a challenge due to their low contrast against the vast cosmic background, distinguishing them from the typically brighter reflection or emission nebulae that either reflect starlight or emit ionized light.
Positioned approximately 650 light-years away, the Shark Nebula showcases distinctive features, with the brighter blue reflection areas situated closer to 1,000 light-years. Enhancing the celestial panorama is the inclusion of galaxy PGC 67671, a diminutive yellowish spiral object positioned behind the “dorsal fin” area in the lower-right section. Notably, this distant galaxy is located approximately 58 million light-years behind the entirety of the Shark Nebula, contributing a captivating depth to the cosmic composition.
This project is a continuous endeavor, with my objective being to gather additional data and enrich the information by incorporating more details, particularly in narrow-band imaging. The forthcoming enhancements will focus on intensifying the visibility of all red faint structures in the current image.
Following the completion of my previous work, which involved a close-up capture of the Shark Nebula, I made the decision to embark on a larger-scale wide-field project. In this image, a myriad of nebulae and faint structures come into view, including 8 dark nebulae cataloged as LDN and 10 bright nebulae cataloged as LBN.
This RGB composition is the result of 8 hours of integration time at f/2.
Equipment
Imaging Telescopes Or Lenses
Sigma 135mm F1.8 DG HSM (Art)
Imaging Cameras
ZWO ASI294MM Pro
Mounts
ZWO AM5
Filters
Astronomik Deep-Sky Blue 36mm · Astronomik Deep-Sky Green 36mm · Astronomik Deep-Sky Red 36mm · Astronomik L-2 Luminance UV/IR Block 36mm
Accessories
Pegasus Astro USB Control Hub · Talon 6 · ZWO EAF · ZWO EFW 7 x 36mm
Software
Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight · Starkeeper Voyager Custom Array
Guiding Telescopes Or Lenses
ZWO 30mm Mini Guider Scope
Guiding Cameras
ZWO ASI290MM Mini
Acquisition details
Dates:
May 15, 2023 · May 26, 2023 · June 2, 2023 · June 15, 2023
Frames:
Astronomik Deep-Sky Blue 36mm: 100×60″(1h 40′)
Astronomik Deep-Sky Green 36mm: 100×60″(1h 40′)
Astronomik Deep-Sky Red 36mm: 100×60″(1h 40′)
Astronomik L-2 Luminance UV/IR Block 36mm: 200×60″(3h 20′)
Integration:
8h 20′
Avg. Moon age:
17.89 days
Avg. Moon phase:
40.64%
RA center: 22h08m57s.1
DEC center: +72°54′32″
Pixel scale: 10.864 arcsec/pixel
Orientation: 90.013 degrees
Field radius: 4.954 degrees
WCS transformation: thin plate spline
Resolution: 2712×1851
File size: 9.4 MB
Locations: AAS Montsec, Àger, Lleida, Spain
Data source: Own remote observatory
Remote source: Non-commercial independent facility
via Flickr https://flic.kr/p/2pkp6T5