The Wizard Nebula (Sh2-142/NGC 7380). 80 x 300s exposures for approximately 6.5 hours of integration. The Wizard is such a popular target, yet it has not come easily for me. In 2021, collimation issues got in the way (described
here), and in 2022, the signal inexplicably failed to overcome the noise enough to justify completing the image (see my Fall Flops in the the description
here).
This year, things went quite a bit better. I had just installed an EAF on my Askar FRA500 rig, and the weather forecast suggested I would have a couple hours to test it out. The test went fine, and for once the weather forecast under-promised and over-delivered. I ended up with 6.5 hours of integration. I'd love to gather more to smooth out the remaining noise (I used NoiseXterminator, but seek to be cautious not to over-apply it), but that can wait until next year, and in the meantime, I'm happy with the image as it is.
In fact, I like this one enough that I made many alternate versions--wizardly transformations--with different color balances. Enjoy!
(Captured: Askar FRA500, AM5 Mount, ASI183MC Pro, Optolong L-eNhance filter. Processed: AstroPixelProcessor, PixInsight, StarXterminator, NoiseXterminator, BlurXterminator, Star Reduction script by Bill Blanshan and Mike Cranfield)
Comments