A few months ago our journey made a stop by the Elephant Trunk Nebula in the constellation of Cepheus. Not more than a stone’s throw away you will find this odd ball pair: the Flying Bat Nebula (Sh2-129) and the Squid Nebula (Ou-4). This region is rich in hydrogen-alpha (Ha) and Oxygen3 (Oiii) emissions, which comprises the Flying Bat Nebula and Squid Nebula, respectively. The pair is located some 2,300 light years away from Earth.
Undoubtedly, processing this image has to be my most challenging to date. I captured 15.5 hours of data over a period of 3 nights, with a dual narrowband filter, which is capable of isolating the Ha and Oiii regions. One of the sessions was during the Sturgeon full moon. Though this is not an ideal sky, I thought I would take advantage of a clear sky that night. Post-processing proved to be quite a challenge, and I spent hours working every technique I have learnt to date to produce the final image. I knew beforehand that the Squid Nebula is extremely faint and it requires tons of data to bring out the structure. I am pleased with the outcome, but I will continue to work on this target to add much more hours of data. In the meantime, remember to look up and experience an amazing Universe!
Starless Sh2-129 and Ou-4.
Gear: AA Hypercam 26C, Askar 80 PHQ, HEM27 mount, Optolong L-Ultimate; ZWO OAG + AA120mc
Exif: 185 x 5-min lights; Gain 200, Offset 3, TEC @ 10 degrees; 20 darks,
SharpCap, PHD2; AstroPixelProcessor, PixInsight; Photoshop