Nebula – Page 2 – Semper Iuvenis Photography

Exposing Sh2-225 / LBN 778

Sh2-225 (also known as LBN 778) is a faint emission nebula and H II region located in the constellation Auriga. It is situated within the Perseus Arm of the Milky Way. The nebula is estimated to be approximately 12,060 light-years (3,700 parsecs) away from Earth.

I found this to be a fascinating area. There are large bulges of Hii in the background. They are partially obscured by foreground dust. A bright patch of Hii is lit up in the middle. That bright bit is Sh2-225.

Often described as extremely faint, it appears near the more prominent supernova remnant Sh2-224 (the “Rice Hat” nebula). Some deep imaging suggests it may be part of a larger ring-like or ball-shaped structure obscured by dark nebulosity. Due to its low surface brightness, it is a difficult target for astrophotography.

Astrobin link for the acquisition details and annotated image.

Sh2-204: The Shrimp Nebula

Also known as the Shrimp nebula, Sh2-204 is a large, and quite faint, emission nebula located in the constellation Camelopardalis.

Image acquisition and session automation using APT. Subframe calibration, alignment, integration, and processing using PixInsight. Astrobin link for the details

Capturing the Elusive Sh2-224 Supernova Remnant

Sh2-224 is a faint supernova remnant (SNR) located in the constellation Auriga. It is most commonly known as the Rice Hat Nebula. This is because its unique asymmetrical shape resembles a traditional Asian conical hat.

It is the expanding shell of debris. It was left over from a massive star’s explosion. This explosion occurred between 13,000 and 24,000 years ago. There are also 7 galaxies in the photograph.

The nebula spans roughly 163 light-years in diameter. The “hat” shape results from the supernova’s shockwave interacting with a lower-density cavity in the interstellar medium. This interaction allowed part of the shell to expand more rapidly into a “wing” or arc.

Sh2-224 is considered an extremely difficult target for amateur astronomers and astrophotographers because it is exceptionally dim. Capturing its detailed filamentary structure typically requires Long Integration Times: Often 20 to 60+ hours of total exposure.

This image is right at 8 hours of exposure. Image acquisition and session automation using APT. Subframe calibration, alignment, integration, and processing with PixInsight. Astrobin link for all the details.

Discovering the Peanut Nebula

Sh2-205 is a large, reddish H II region. It is a cloud of interstellar gas and dust where stars are forming. It is located on the border of the constellations Camelopardalis and Perseus. Within Sh2-205 is LBN 696, the big round ball of gas in the center of the image.

Also known as the “Peanut Nebula,” it is approximately 3,200 light-years from Earth and spans about 100 light-years across. It’s not often that the entire frame is filled with various gases. In this case, there’s really no background “sky”. It’s entirely nebulae.

Additionally, it is a faint nebula. Long exposure times are needed to image it. Its brightest part is a peanut-shaped area. I’m guessing the round bit in the middle is the “peanut”. The bright round ball in the center of the photograph is LBN 696. The image encompasses about half of the much larger Sh2-205 nebula.

This image contains 163 5 minute subframes acquired over three nights using APT for session control and automation. Subframe calibration, alignment, integration, and processing with PixInsight. Astrobin link for acquisition details and annotated image.

Discovering a Squid within a Flying Bat Nebula

The Sh2-129 nebula, also known as the “Flying Bat Nebula,” is a large and faint emission nebula. It consists of ionized hydrogen gas. This nebula is located in the constellation Cepheus, approximately 2,300 light-years from Earth. It is notable for containing the much fainter, blue-green “Squid Nebula” (Ou4) within its boundaries.

The attraction of this image is of course the Squid (Ou4) within the Flying Bat. The bat nebula spans 50 light-years across. Imaging it requires a very wide field telescope. I do not keep such a telescope set up on my rigs. I went with the widest I have mounted and that’s the Esprit 120ED at 860mm fl. Not an easy target with a OSC camera. Certainly a lot more time will help bring out the squid. Perhaps next year as Cepheus is on the back end of its time over us. Meridian is at 17:30 now.

Capturing an image of Sh2-129, especially the faint Ou4 within it, is considered a challenging target for Astro photographers. It typically requires long exposure times. Many hours, often 30+ hours, are needed using narrowband filters. These filters isolate the specific hydrogen-alpha and oxygen-III emissions that reveal its detailed structure. This image is 11 hours using a broadband filter. More in 2026.

141 subframes at 300s acquired using APT for session management and automation. Esprit 120ED & ASI2600MC cooled to 15f atop an Eq6r Pro mount. Subframes calibrated, aligned, integrated, and processed manually in PixInsight. Astrobin link for the details.

I look forward to spending more time on this one. Stay tuned!

Peering into the Cocoon Nebula

Sh2-125 is an astronomical catalog designation for the Cocoon Nebula, also known as IC 5146 or Caldwell 19. It is a stellar nursery. It is also a combination emission and reflection nebula in the constellation Cygnus. The nebula is about 4,000 ly away, and the central star that lights it formed about 100,000 years ago.

The nebula gets its “cocoon” shape because the star birth within it has expelled gas and dust. It sits at the eastern end of a long, dark lane of dust. This is the dark nebula Barnard 168 (B168), which appears as a trail behind the glowing cocoon. Based upon the scarcity and dimness of the stars I’d say there’s a lot of dust all around the cocoon.

It is situated in a star-rich region of the Milky Way, which can make it challenging to spot. When viewing Sh2-125, dark nebula Barnard 168 (B168) is an inseparable part of the experience. It forms a dark lane that surrounds the cluster. This lane projects westward, creating the appearance of a trail behind the Cocoon. In short it’s a beautiful celestial object.

This image consists of 130 3 minute exposures calibrated, registered, integrated, and processed in Pix Insight. Subframe acquisition and session automation via APT. Astrobin link for acquisition details and annotated image.

Discovering a colorful gem in Canis Major – Sh2-301

Sh2-301, or Gum 5, is an emission nebula in the constellation of Canis Major. At a declination of -18 this little gem sits at the edge of my southerly reach. It’s unusual to find an Hii target this far south, although there are a few.

This nebula is rich in Oxygen, Hydrogen, and Sulfur emissions. It is often overlooked because it’s close to Thor’s Helmet and the Vela super nova remnant. It has a lot of structure as well. There are many small columns of dust and gas. You can also see wispy blue areas of oxygen and a nice Bok globule in the center.

Additionally there are 4 galaxies and 2 LBN targets in the image. Astrobin link for acquisition details and annotated image.

I happened upon this target after watching Gary Imm on the Astro Imaging Channel SAIC you tube channel. He went through a very interesting presentation on the Sharpless catalog and his approach to imaging it. Following that, I was looking through his images and this target caught my eye.

Session automation and image acquisition by APT. 132 subframes taken with an RC8 telescope at 1625mm fl and an ASI071MC Pro camera cooled to 15f. These ride atop a Skywatcher Eq6r Pro Equatorial mount. Subframe calibration, alignment, integration, and processing in PixInsight.

Exploring Sh2-206: The Fossil Footprint Nebula

Sh2-206 is also known as NGC 1491 or the Fossil Footprint Nebula. It is an emission nebula located approximately 10,700 light-years away in the constellation Perseus. The nebula gets its deep red coloration from the ionized hydrogen gas. The “Fossil Footprint” nickname comes from its distinctive shape in images.

It is a typical target for astrophotography during the late autumn and winter months in the Northern Hemisphere. Astrobin link for acquisition details and annotation.

This image contains 187 3 minute subframes captured from my driveway using APT. This natural color image was calibrated, integrated, and processed using PixInsight.

Flaming Star Nebula: A Deep Dive

The object listed as Sh2-229 in the Sharpless catalog is the Flaming Star Nebula. It is also known as IC 405 or Caldwell 31. It is a combination emission and reflection nebula located in the constellation Auriga. The nebula surrounds the hot, bluish, irregular variable star AE Aurigae. This massive O-type star (about 23 solar masses) is responsible for illuminating the surrounding gas and dust.

Sh2-229 displays both emission (reddish glow from ionized hydrogen gas) and reflection (bluish cast from dust scattering starlight) properties. The “flaming” appearance is largely due to the bright red hydrogen emission.

I captured 166 240s subframes from my driveway. I used a Skywatcher Eq6r Pro mount, a Skywatcher Esprit 120ED telescope, and an ASI2600MC Pro camera cooled to 15f. APT was used for session management and automation. PixInsight was used to calibrate, align, integrate and process the image.

Astrobin link for acquisition details and image annotation.

Exploring the Heart of the Clamshell Nebula – Sh2-119

Another of the Sharpless catalog objects is Sh2-119. It is also known as the Clamshell Nebula. This nebula is a large emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus. It is an active star-forming region located approximately 2,200 light-years from Earth.

Its shape has been described as resembling an open clam shell with a “pearl” inside. The nebula glows due to the intense ultraviolet radiation. Powerful stellar winds come from the bright, fifth-magnitude star 68 Cygni. The star is located near the center. These winds also cause the nebula to glow. This radiation ionizes the surrounding hydrogen gas, causing it to emit light. This image is of the core of the clamshell with 68 Cygni at the center.

The region contains a complex network of gas and dust clouds. This network includes several darker nebulae and Bok globules where new stars are forming. Sh2-119 is situated a few degrees east of the more famous and brighter North America Nebula (NGC 7000). Astro photographers often overlook it because of its proximity to the Pelican Nebula.

APT was used for session management and automation acquiring 123 4 minute images over two nights. Cygnus passes meridian right at dark here in the hills of WNC. PixInsight was used to calibrate, integrate, and process the image.

Astrobin link for acquisition details and annotated image.