Heart Nebula (IC1805-Melotte 15) (Terry Hancock)

Heart Nebula (IC1805-Melotte 15)

My latest processing and imagery captured from grand mesa observatory using the Sky-Watcher Esprit 150mm ED F7.0 Triplet APO Refractor that Sky-Watcher USA have sent to us for testing. The camera is the QHY168 Monochrome CMOS camera (beta test model) with an APS-C format sensor. The QHY168M matched with the Sky-Watcher 150 Esprit has an image scale of 0.94 arcsec/pixel and a Field of view of 51.6 x 77.7 arcmin. Using Optolong 7nm H-Alpha, 6.5nm SII and OIII filters the data was preprocessed using Pixinsight and post processed in Photoshop by mapping the SII, Ha and OIII data respectively to the R, G and B channels to create a Hubble Palette (SHO) rendering.

Total Integration time: 14 hours

The setup and data that I used is from October’s subscription on “System 2” and one of 3 telescopes currently available through Grand Mesa Observatory’s Subscription services, if you want to sign up go here: grandmesaobservatory.com/equipment-rentals/

Technical Details:

Image capture details

Terry Hancock downunderobservatory.com

Location: GrandMesaObservatory.com Purdy Mesa, Colorado

Dates: October 2018

H-Alpha 280 min, 28 x 600 sec, bin 1x1

OIII 310 min, 31 x 600 sec, bin 1x1

SII 250 min, 25 x 600 sec, bin 1x1

Camera: QHY168M Monochrome CMOS APS-C Beta

Gain 10, Offset 30, Calibrated with Flat, Dark & Bias

Optics: Sky-Watcher Esprit 150mm ED Triplet APO Refractor

Filters by Optolong

Image Acquisition software Maxim DL5

Pre Processed in Pixinsight

Post Processed in Photoshop

At the center of IC1805 lies the open cluster of stars known as Melotte 15 contains stars that are almost 50 times the volume of our Sun. The “Heart Nebula” show the reddish glow of hydrogen atoms energized by bright stars that form inside this emission nebula. Lanes and patches of dark nebulae are also visible in the foreground of this star forming region of the Milky Way.

Read more about the Heart Nebula in our e-book "The Armchair Astronomer" cosmicpursuits.com/…/armchair-astronomer-volume-1-…/

#QHY #QHY168M #SkyWatcher #Optolong #Sky #Astronomy #Astrophotography #Astroimaging #Space #Cosmos

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