My latest process of IC1805, otherwise known as the Heart Nebula using data from Grand Mesa Observatory’s system 1 the Takahashi FSQ 130 (available on our subscriptions) using a QHY367C full frame One Shot Color CMOS camera with Chroma Narrowband Filters. I’m quite amazed as to how well the one shot color QHY367 full frame CMOS camera works in narrowband despite having a sensor with a bayer matrix and incidentally I felt the data was so good that no noise reduction was used whatsoever. I’m looking forward to using QHYCCD’s new replacement, the “QHY367 Pro C” later this month.

In this Hubble Palette version the H-Alpha is mapped to green, SII is mapped to red and OIII is mapped to the blue channel. While the colors in this image are not the true colors, the narrowband filters used in the making of this Hubble Palette image reveal much more of the hidden gasses not visible in a broadband image.

Captured over 5 nights in October 2019 for a total acquisition time of 22 hours.

Technical Details

Captured and processed by: Terry Hancock

Location: GrandMesaObservatory.com Purdy Mesa, Colorado

October 3, 5, 6, 8, 10th 2019

HA 270 min 18 x 900 sec

OIII 210 min 14 x 900 sec

SII 840 min 56 x 900 sec

Narrowband Filters by Chroma "5nm"

Camera: QHY367C

Gain 2850, Offset 76 with Dark Frames no Flat.

Optics: Walter Holloway's Takahashi FSQ 130 APO Refractor @ F5

EQ Mount: Paramount ME

Image Acquisition software Maxim DL6

Pre Processing in Pixinsight

Post Processed in Photoshop CC

Explanation by NASA from my first APOD March 4 2013:

Sprawling across almost 200 light-years, emission nebula IC 1805 is a mix of glowing interstellar gas and dark dust clouds. Derived from its Valentine's-Day-approved shape, its nickname is the Heart Nebula. About 7,500 light-years away in the Perseus spiral arm of our galaxy, stars were born in IC 1805. In fact, near the cosmic heart's center are the massive hot stars of a newborn star cluster also known as Melotte 15, about 1.5 million years young. A little ironically, the Heart Nebula is located in the constellation of the mythical Queen of Aethiopia (Cassiopeia). This deep view of the region around the Heart Nebula spans about two degrees on the sky or about four times the diameter of the Full Moon.