The Seahorse chasing the Squid

In the Cepheus constellation we can find two interesting nebulae surrounded by a rich molecular cloud of dust and gas. Both nebulae have suggestive shapes and have been given the names of the Seahorse nebula (Barnard 150, at the bottom of the image) and the Squid nebula (Ou4, at the top of the image).

Barnard 150, also catalogued as LDN 1082, is a dark nebula located some 1,200 light-years from Earth. Unlike emission or reflection nebulae that emit or reflect light, dark nebulae are composed of dense, cold gas and dust that block the light from objects or stars behind them. They are often seen as inky, black patches against the background of brighter stars or nebulae.

Also known as the Seahorse nebula, it takes the name due to its shape that appears against a rich, luminous background field of stars.

The Squid nebula, also called Ou4, was discovered back in 2011 by Nicolas Outters. It’s a really faint object that covers around one degree in the night sky, but it can only be detected through deep image integrations. It’s apparently surrounded by the reddish hydrogen emission nebula catalogued as Sh2-129. The distance of Ou4 from Earth is still unknown, although some recent studies indicate that it does lie within Sh2-129 some 3,200 light-years away. The squid would represent a spectacular outflow of material driven by a triple system of hot, massive stars, catalogued as HR8119, seen near the center of the nebula. This giant squid is 50 light-years across.

 

About this image:

This image has been captured from my backyard observatory, located in Prades, with the use of all my 3 telescopes and monochrome cameras that have worked as a team to produce this 142 hour 55 minute exposure image.

Back in September 2023 I published two separate images of the nebulae Barnard 150 and Ou4 using my double Takahashi FSQ setup. By that time I wondered if I was able to take a wide field image mosaic with my third refractor telescope, a FRA300.
By then I started capturing data for a two panne mosaic image that has finally covered an area of almost 14 full moons in diagonal, allowing me to show both celestial objects in one single image in the context of the rich molecular cloud of gas that surrounds them.

Link to the B150 FSQ’s image: https://astrocat.info/barnard-150-seahorse-in-cepheus-new-edition/

The full image shown above covers an area of 5º21′ x 4º23′ at a resolution of 2.59″/pixel.

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