In the Perseus arm of our galaxy we find two spectacular nebulae, the Heart (IC 1805) and Soul (IC1848) nebulae. Located around 7,500 light years away from us both cover a wide region of the night sky, in the Cassiopeia constellation.
Both nebulae have high emission on the red spectrum and especially in the H alpha line. With the use of this filter we can capture its structure. This image shows the Heart Nebula, IC 1805, and its core, the Melotte 15 nebula.
It’s my first image using the dual Takahashi FSQ setup. FSQ106 EDX4 was used to capture Ha3nm data and RGB for stars, while FSQ85 was used to capture [OIII] and [SII] data.
The color combination to obtain this image has been the following. I processed the nebula without stars and composed the following palette:
R= [SII] *0.7 + Ha*0.3
G= [OIII]*0.7 + Ha*0.3
B= [OIII]
Then I added the RGB stars to the resulting nebula image.
I hope you enjoy the image as much as I’ve done. Thanks for taking your time on this site.
Image Details
FSQ106:
Ha 3nm: 82×600″
RGB: (20,18,18)x300″
FSQ85:
[OIII]: 162×300″
[SII]: 69×300″
Calibrated with: 30 darks, 30 flats, 30 dark-flats.
Total exposure: 37h35′
Moon at 90% (on average)
Image resolution: 1.46”/pixel
FOV: 2.54ºx1.7º
Equipment
FSQ106 EDX4 + ASI2600MM + LRGB Astrodon filters + Ha3nm Antlia – with ZWO EFW 7 pos
FSQ85 + ASI294MM + SHO LRGB Baader filters – with ZWO EFW 8 pos
Mesu200 mount
Guiding with ASI120MM and ZWO Mini Guide Scope
Software
SGP, PHD2, APP, PIX, LR, PS, TPZ.
Aleix Roig, December 2021
Prades (Tarragona, Catalonia – Spain).
Full HD view on Astrobin: