NGC 6302 is a bipolar planetary nebula in the constellation Scorpius. It is also known as the Bug Nebula, Butterfly Nebula, or Caldwell 69.
NGC 6302 resembles a butterfly with its wings outstretched. It is perhaps one of the most complex ever observed planetary nebulae. It has many dramatic areas, some containing roiling cauldrons of superheated gas along the areas resembling wings too thick dust concealing its heart. Superheated gas is moving through space at more than 950 000 kilometres per hour. You could travel from the Earth to the Moon at that speed in around 24 minutes! Incredible.
The central star is one of the hottest stars known, with a surface temperature of over 250,000 degrees Celsius. This suggests that the star must have been enormous.
These cosmic trainwrecks always seem to leave the most beautiful structures in their wake. I created this image using cooled CCD monochromatic astronomical cameras with seven filters. A luminance filter captured most of the detail, followed by red, green, and blue filters to fill cre ate a traditional colour image. I then used SII, Ha, and OIII narrowband for a bit of extra structure and additional hues to balance the shot while trying to retain a traditional RGB colour image. I like how the Ha is just appearing in the background behind the nebula without becoming too distracting, allowing the Butterfly to command all the attention.
Instruments:- Telescope: 10" Ritchey-Chrétien RCOS
- Camera: SBIG STL-11000 Mono
- Mount: Astro-Physics AP-900
- Focal Length: 2310.00 mm
- Pixel size: 9.00 um
- Resolution: 0.82 arcsec/pix
Exposure Details:- Red 18X600
- Green 12X600
- Blue 19X600
- Lum 59X600
- Ha 29X1200
- SII 15X1200
- OIII 28X1200
Total Exposure: 42 Hours
Thanks for looking
Comments