Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Cygnus (Cyg)
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The Tree of Enlightenment (LBN 249), Chris Smith
The Tree of Enlightenment (LBN 249)
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The Tree of Enlightenment (LBN 249)

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
The Tree of Enlightenment (LBN 249), Chris Smith
The Tree of Enlightenment (LBN 249)
Powered byPixInsight

The Tree of Enlightenment (LBN 249)

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Description

The Gamma Cygni Nebula, located approximately 4,900 light years from Earth, displays bright emissions of light resulting from gasses being ionized by the radiation of nearby stars. This section of the nebula, known as LBN 249, resembles images of the Bodhi Tree, or Tree of Enlightenment, combined with a Van Gogh’ish dreamy stylization. The nebula is also rich with dust, creating dark, opaque regions by scattering and absorbing the surrounding light, providing incredible contrast to the image. The orange glow of the treetop is driven by a strong S2 signal. Overall luminosity is driven by the strong Ha signal which is common is this type of nebula.

I took a different approach to processing this image, using Starnet++ to first create a starless image of the nebulosity and then process the stars and nebulosity separately, combining them back at the end. The image might also benefit from gathering some RGB data for more natural star colors but that will be for another day.

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The Tree of Enlightenment (LBN 249), Chris Smith