Title: Cosmic Squid, Ou4
Description:
The Squid nebula, also called Ou4, was discovered back in 2011 by Nicolas Outters. It's a really faint object that covers around one degree in the night sky, but it can only be detected through deep image integrations. It lies in the Cepheus constellation. It's apparently surrounded by the reddish hydrogen emission nebula catalogued as Sh2-129. The distance of Ou4 from Earth is still unknown, although some recent studies indicate that it does lie within Sh2-129 some 3,200 light-years away. The squid would represent a spectacular outflow of material driven by a triple system of hot, massive stars, catalogued as HR8119, seen near the center of the nebula. This giant squid has 50 light-years across.
To capture this image I spent several nights, from my backyard observatory, with the use of my two Takahashi FSQ twin systems to gather enough OIII and Ha data. I also captured some Luminance data to get to the final image. The stars were captured using R, G, B filters. A total of 46 hours and 25 minutes were needed. The full image covers an area of 2º23' x 1º37'. Thanks NASA APOD for all the information provided about this deep sky object.
Image details:
FSQ106:
Ha: 193 x 300" (16h 05')
L: 50 x 300" (4h10')
RGB: (60, 60, 60) x 30" (1h30')
FSQ85:
[OIII]: 296 x 300" (24h 40')
Calibrated with darks, flats and dark-flats.
Total exposure: 46h 25'
Moon at 30% (on average)
Image resolution: 1.46”/pixel
FOV (full image): 2º23' x 1º37'
Equipment:
FSQ106 EDX4 + ASI2600MM + LRGB Astrodon filters + Ha3nm Antlia - with ZWO EFW 7 pos
FSQ85 + ASI294MM + SHO LRGB Baader filters - with ZWO EFW 8 pos
Mesu200 mount
Guiding with ASI120MM and ZWO Mini Guide Scope
Aleix Roig, September 2023
Prades (Tarragona, Catalonia - Spain).
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