I made the attempt to capture this last year with an uncooled DSLR from a Bortle 4 "dark site". At the time, my ASI294MC Pro was broken and had been sent back to ZWO for repair. When I initially started data collection I immediately knew this was going to be a different beast all together. After 5 minutes of leaving the shutter open, nothing but starlight could be seen in a single sub. I stayed the course and continued to capture it all night anyway. After 8 hours of integration and a trip back home... I had nothing to show for it. The target was far too dim and the camera was not up to the task.
Fast forward to last Thursday night... I had my eye on the prize, Bortle 2 skies, and an ASI2600MM Pro ready to rock on the
@explorescientific ED127 FCD100. I already knew it was going to be a challenge so I prepared to spend two full nights collecting photons on target. 16.5 hours total integration captured in LRGB. Even after all that integration, while at one of the darkest locations on the east coast, I still had an image that was noisy and needed some extra love. However, careful processing left me with what I think to be a stunning image of The Embryo. The deep blacks contrasting with vibrant blue Oxygen and rich pockets of red Hydrogen really give this region of the sky a mysterious and exciting vibe. With all of that being said, after a year of waiting, I'm proud to have finally captured its beauty.
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