First light and data collection with my new ZWO ASI6200MM mono camera and ZWO 7×2” Electronic Filter Wheel was on 15 November, collecting data on the SH2-240 Spaghetti Nebula shown in the “Previously captured images of SH2-240 Spaghetti Nebula” below. That night, I split my time between first gathering data with the mono camera and the filter wheel presenting the OIII filter on (you guessed it), the Flying Bat/Giant Squid. After the Flying Bat/Giant Squid set, I turned my attention to the Spaghetti Nebula. I created an image – it was, after all, first light – so I felt the need – but there wasn’t much data to work with. The chance for “second light” came just about a month later – 14&15 December 2025 – when I had the opportunity to continue to gather more data on SH2-240 Spaghetti Nebula to flesh out the spindly pieces of nebulosity I’d captured in November – that image has moved into this gallery’s “prominent” position (for now, until I refine my processing skills and create a better image!)
Fun facts
Simeis 147, also known as SH2-240 Spaghetti Nebula, is a supernova remnant (SNR) in the Milky Way, straddling the border between the constellations Auriga and Taurus. It was discovered in 1952 at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory by Grigory Shajn and his team using a Schmidt camera and a narrowband filter close to the Hydrogen Alpha transmission line. It is difficult to observe due to its extremely low brightness. This discovery was part of a survey conducted between 1945 and 1955, most likely using captured German equipment, as the observatory was practically destroyed during WWII. The Schmidt camera had a field of view of 175′. Many previously unknown hydrogen nebula were discovered this way, as they are not readily visible in regular photographs.
The nebulous area has an almost spherical shell and a filamentary structure. The remnant has an apparent diameter of approximately 3 degrees, an estimated distance of approximately 3000 (±350) light-years, and an age of approximately 40,000 years. At that distance, it spans roughly 160 light years.
It is believed that the stellar explosion left behind a rapidly spinning neutron star known as pulsar PSR J0538+2817 in the nebula core, emitting a strong radio signal.
BTW – the mysterious red blob in the NE corner of the image is LBN 827 ( https://in-the-sky.org/data/object.php?id=LBN_827 )
Other Catalog Designations: Simeis 147, Sharpless 2-240, SNR G180.0-01.7
Subtype: Supernova Remnant
Distance from Earth: 3000 light years
Visual Magnitude: 4.0
Apparent Dimensions: 3°20′ x 3°
Constellation: Taurus
{from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simeis_147 }
Capture Notes
Again, Mother Nature vetoed our December dark skies plan but then provided clear skies at home during the week leading up to (and following) it. So…I took advantage of the clear skies on Sunday and Monday nights – 14&15 December 2025 – to collect more data on the SH2-240 Spaghetti Nebula with the Southern Cross (w 0.7x reducer so the entire nebulosity fit into the frame – barely) and the ZWO ASI6200MM mono camera.
I discovered when I’d processed the data captured with the same equipment in mid-November (as the mono camera’s first light) that I had framed the image that didn’t quite capture the entire nebulous region. By rotating the frame by 90 degrees – although it’s a tight fit on the short axis, it includes the region that I’d cut off on the (now) long axis.
There were both data collection issues and processing struggles. The data collection issues included – delays in downloading and issues with the autofocus routine – that were subsequently solved (in late December) with camera driver updates and code written into the SGP sequencer’s parameters. The processing struggles revolved around trying to recombine the individual filter’s channels into a color image – “learning” a new software package, then picking and choosing what to use from the new SW and what to use from my existing tools and workflow.
This image is comprised of data captured over the two nights using both the R-G-B and S-H-O filters. I captured short R-G-B subframes to use to create a realistically colored star field and longer S-H-O subframes to capture the nebulosity. I processed the R-G-B data to create the star field. Then I used the Ha, SII, and OIII filter data in a H-O-S mapping (i.e., Ha goes in the red channel, OIII goes in the green channel, and SII goes in the blue channel) to create the from the narrowband data into a relatively reasonable RGB-looking image.
I still wish it was more red and less magenta – but I don’t know how to get there – YET.
Equipment
All equipment controlled by HP Probook (DSO-CTRL1) running Sequence Generator Pro v4.4.1.1441.
- Imaging: (Southern Cross) Askar FRA600 108mm f/5.6 Quintuplet Petzval Flat-Field Astrograph with Askar 0.7x Reducer for Askar FRA600 108mm Astrograph: (Mono camera & filter wheel) ZWO ASI6200MM Pro Monochrome imaging camera; ZWO – EFW 7×2″ Filter Wheel with installed filters (1=SII, 2=Ha, 3=OIII, 4=Lum, 5=Red, 6=Grn, 7=Blue): Svbony SV227 2” Narrow-Band – SII, Ha, OIII; Optolong LRGB Filter Set (2″);
- Mount: Rainbow Astro RST-135E (controlled by iHubo ASCOM driver)
- Polar alignment: QHYCCD camera (controlled by Polemaster for polar alignment)
- Autoguiding: Orion 60mm Multi-Use Guide Scope with Orion StarShoot AutoGuider Pro Mono Astrophotography Camera (controlled by PHD2)
- Auto Focuser: ZWO EAF Electronic Automatic Focuser – Standard (New 5V Version) (EAF-5V-STD)
Summary
Sequence plan (Mono Data– 14Dec2025): Gain 100, Offset 30, Temp 0°C. Red 60x1min; 18:20-19:37MST; Green 59x1min, 19:41-20:58MST; Blue 31x1min, 21:02-22:14MST; SII 24x5min, 14Dec2025 22:18 – 15Dec2025 00:57MST; OIII 15x10min, 15Dec 01:11 – 03:35MST; Ha 24x5min, 15Dec 03:39 – 05:45MST, Captured 14Dec2025 18:20MST – 15Dec2025 05:45MST (11:25 min). Total imaging time: 540 minutes; 9:00 hours. Download efficiency: 9:00/11:25 = 78%
Sequence plan (Mono Data– 15Dec2025): Gain 100, Offset 30, Temp 0°C. Ha 36x5min; 15Dec2025 18:41-22:02MST; SII 36x5min, 15Dec 22:06 – 16Dec 01:46MST; OIII 18x10min, 16Dec 01:50 – 05:02MST; SII 24x5min, 14Dec2025 22:18 – 15Dec2025 00:57MST; OIII 15x10min, 15Dec 01:11 – 03:35MST; Blue 30x1min, 16Dec 05:05 – 05:42MST, Captured 15Dec2025 18:41MST – 16Dec2025 05:42MST (11:01 min). Total imaging time: 570 minutes; 9:30 hours. Download efficiency: 9:30/11:01 = 86%
Shooting location: HCH front patio, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Processing: High-level workflow: 1) capture the data using SGP; 2) blink through and cull images using Seti Astro; 3) stack the acceptable images with APP (Ann let me in on the secret that I can let APP do the filters’ lights separation and association with their correct calibration frames from the FITS header data rather than my by-hand by-filter by-session laborious process I’d been following); 4) put the stacked images back into APP and use their RGB Combine tool to create a color image; 5) remove/separate the stars using Starnet++; and 6) process as usual with Photoshop and Lightroom.
Previously captured images of SH2-240 Spaghetti Nebula
Capture Notes
This was the second target imaged on my first night using the ZWO ASI6200MM mono camera and ZWO EFW 7×2” filter wheel (15Nov2025). Again, I had challenges with the autofocuser and ended up turning it off, keeping it from running during the sequence (so that I would capture data, not have the autofocuser spin on trying to find a focus point all night!)
This image is comprised of data captured with the Ha, SII, and OIII filters then combined (using APP’s HOO-2 RGB Combine algorithm) to produce an RGB final image. Although the capture went well – the processing did not. There’s a dearth of information on how to combine mono images into an SHO (Hubble palette) or RGB image with Photoshop. I watched a number of YouTube videos for hints, but was mostly stymied with implementing what I saw and heard on how to combine the channels to create a good starting point for the RGB image. I tried:
- Combining the colorized images through blending or opacity – just, YUCK!
- Merging the mono channels didn’t work – WAY too green!
- Watched a YouTube video (on PixInsight) that off-handedly said you can combine channels in APP
- Tried a couple of model versions – HOO2 and RGB2 (with no apparent difference) – the table below shows the percentages of Ha, OIII, and SII I used on each filter’s data for each R, G, B channel
- On RGB2 – also increased the x=1 to x=1.5
| Ha data | OIII data | SII data | |
| R channel | 100 | 0 | 10 |
| G channel | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| B channel | 10 | 50 | 100 |
Equipment
All equipment controlled by HP Probook (DSO-CTRL1) running Sequence Generator Pro v4.4.1.1441.
- Imaging: (Southern Cross) Askar FRA600 108mm f/5.6 Quintuplet Petzval Flat-Field Astrograph with Askar 0.7x Reducer for Askar FRA600 108mm Astrograph: (Mono camera & filter wheel) ZWO ASI6200MM Pro Monochrome imaging camera; ZWO – EFW 7×2″ Filter Wheel with installed filters (1=SII, 2=Ha, 3=OIII, 4=Lum, 5=Red, 6=Grn, 7=Blue): Svbony SV227 2” Narrow-Band – SII, Ha, OIII; Optolong LRGB Filter Set (2″);
- Mount: Rainbow Astro RST-135E (controlled by iHubo ASCOM driver)
- Polar alignment: QHYCCD camera (controlled by Polemaster for polar alignment)
- Autoguiding: Orion 60mm Multi-Use Guide Scope with Orion StarShoot AutoGuider Pro Mono Astrophotography Camera (controlled by PHD2)
- Auto Focuser: ZWO EAF Electronic Automatic Focuser – Standard (New 5V Version) (EAF-5V-STD)
Summary
Sequence plan (Mono Data– 15Nov2025): Gain 100, Offset 30, Temp 0°C; 35x5min. (SII, 15x5min, Ha, 10x5min; OIII, 10x5min) Captured 16Nov2025, 02:27MST – 05:45MST. Total imaging time: 175 minutes; 2:55 hours.
Shooting location: HCH front patio (first use after 7+ months of renovation!), Colorado Springs, Colorado
Processing: Stacked in APP 100% of of each filter’s lights with their corresponding calibration frames using AAD with multi-channel image loading to create individual filter stacks; APP RGB2 Combine tool to create RGB image. Star removal with Starnet++. Processing in LR/PS
Capture Notes
Spent three clear nights imaging the SH2-240 Spaghetti Nebula from the front patio using the Southern Cross with the Canon EOS Ra and Optolong LeXtreme filter. It rose at about 21:30MT, had a meridian flip at about 04:00MT and set after sunrise. It is a large target that requires, even with the RaSC set-up, a two-tile mosaic to capture the full target. So on 21 October, 30 October, and 2 November 2022 I imaged throughout the available time, splitting the imaging time roughly evenly between the two tiles.
Equipment
Polar alignment: QHYCCD camera (controlled by Polemaster)
Imaging stream: Askar FRA600, Canon EOS Ra with Optolong LeXtreme light pollution filter
Mount: Rainbow Astro RC-135E (controlled by iHubo)
Autoguider: Orion 60mm Multi-Use Guide Scope, Orion StarShoot AutoGuider Pro Mono Astrophotography Camera (controlled by PHD2)
All equipment controlled by HP Probook running Sequence Generator Pro v3.2.0.660.
Summary
Sequence plan(s): Total integration time: Tile 1 = 11:20hrs; Tile 2 = 10:15 hrs
- 21October 2022: ISO1600. Tile 1: 40x300sec; captured 21Oct 2316 – 22Oct 0254 MDT; Total=3:20hrs. Tile2: 38x300sec; captured 22Oct 0257 – 0619 MDT; Total=3:10hrs.
- 30October 2022: ISO3200. Tile 1: 48x300sec; captured 30Oct 2214 – 31Oct 0224 MDT; Total=4hrs. Tile2: 41x300sec; captured 31Oct 0228 – 0623 MDT; Total=3:25hrs.
- 2November 2022: ISO3200. Tile 1: 24x600sec; captured 2Nov 2215 – 3Nov 0220 MDT; Total=4hrs. Tile2: 22x600sec; captured 3Nov 0223 – 0635 MDT; Total=3:40hrs.
Shooting location: HCH, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Processing: Stacked each tile as three session in APP. Used Ha-OIII Color for stacking algorithm, due to use of LeX light pollution filter. Created mosaic from the three-session .fits files. Processed in LR/PS.