Some would say that imaging under a full moon is lunacy... for sure, gradient removal is much harder, and narrowband filters, particularly the OIII component, tend to tiresome halos around brighter stars. Surprisingly I found this image quite easy to process in Nebulosity v4 with simple levels, curves, star and noise reduction. A total integration of 4 hours, using 5min exposures, has picked out some detail and avoided the worst of the background noise. Fortunately the moon, though bright, is low, and I was pointing North towards Cepheus.
Sh-2-142 is a spectacular emission nebula lying ~8,500 LY away in the Perseus arm of the MW. Surrounding a star cluster that spans ~20 LY, the nebula comprises rich hydrogen emissions, giving way to an OIII glow. Many see a wizard, or perhaps it is 'King Cepheus' dispensing justice from his celestial throne, or a cosmic mouse! A fine
image and description taken by my astro friend
@Daniel Erickson shows the position of DH Cepheii, massive O class stars that are chiefly responsible for igniting this region.
My HOO equivalent image lacks depth in the OIII component, which shows up more clearly in false colour images such as the popular 'hubble palette' - this
beautiful image by another astro friend
@Roy Hagen shows the strong blue OIII glow emanating from the wizard's hands (not to be confused with Emperor Palpatine - that is the wizard, not Roy!)
Guiding my little Star Adventurer (RA only) was a cinch, and I was achieving RMS ~1", which I think is extraordinary for a mass produced, 86 mm diameter, 144 tooth worm wheel. I've not included a Startools version, because I simply can't achieve a smooth image... perhaps I just lack the wizardry or astro-magic on this occasion.
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