A marvelously beautiful region of hydrogen nebula in Cygnus 1800 light years from us. The field of view is centered around RA 20.995 hours and DEC +43°45'. This field is my favorite patch of sky that I have imaged so far. It shows off a section of nebula near The Cygnus Wall, which I believe to be catalogued as LBN 354, as well as LDN 935, a section of dark molecular cloud.

The HII region extends far beyond my small field of view, and is catalogued as NGC 7000. Though, it is typically referred to as the "North America Nebula" due to resembling the continent of North America. The region of LBN 354 is where Mexico & Central America lie. This makes the dark gap where LDN 935 lies a The Gulf of Mexico, giving the region its common name.

LBN 354 is a dense, bright region within NGC 7000 where concentrated star formation occurs. LDN 935 is a dark nebula visible to us only because the molecular structure absorbs and obscures the light from behind it. The bright star on the left side of the image is variable star V2200 Cyg of visual magnitude 7.7. It is a type α2 CVn variable star. These stars are chemically peculiar main sequence variable stars with strong, varying magnetic fields and spectral lines that vary with the star's period of rotation.

This nebula was a very fun target, but processing it was sure interesting. I set the color module in StarTools to my default settings and then went to grab a snack. My jaw hit the floor when I say what had popped up on the screen. This image certainly didn't end up with the colors I had expected going in, but I think this surprise turned out to be a rather happy little accident. It took more versions than I have ever attempted to process this the way I like it, but I'm incredibly glad it turned out as it did; the version of LBN 354 & LDN 935 showcasing a region along The Cygnus Wall where light and dark collide as you see it here.

(Huge thanks to my chromatic assistant not only with color but with helping me to decide on a global light diffraction remodeling procedure to get it to look the way I like it)

Cheers and CS to all,

Lilith