This image has been processed to reveal the light teal haze at the bottom side of the squid.
In processing the previous version of this image
http://www.pbase.com/image/157835661) I have taken special care to maintain the accurate teal color of OIII - an even combination of blue and green. However, this approached has caused the whole image color balance to lean towards the OIII haze. Bob Franke was alert to this result, and has offered to bring back the balance of colors by bringing up the black-point of both blue and green, to that of the red. Consequently, the red Bat (under the blue-green Squid) is now far more visible.
A mysterious, squid-like apparition, this nebula is very faint, but also very large in planet Earth's sky. In the image, composed with narrowband data from the Israeli Negev desert, it spans some 2.5 full moons toward the constellation Cepheus. Recently discovered by French astro-imager Nicolas Outters, the remarkable nebula's bipolar shape and emission are consistent with it being a planetary nebula, the gaseous shroud of a dying sun-like star, but its actual distance and origin are unknown. A new investigation suggests Ou4 really lies within the emission region SH2-129 some 2,300 light-years away. Consistent with that scenario, the cosmic squid would represent a spectacular outflow of material driven by a triple system of hot, massive stars, cataloged as HR8119, seen near the center of the nebula. If so, this truly giant squid nebula would physically be nearly 50 light-years across. (ref:
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140718.html)
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