May brings the return of visibility of nebulae to the Northern Hemisphere skies! With that returned visibility, comes the return to my obsession, started last year (with our dark skies trip to Powderhorn, Colorado in June 2023), of imaging the SH2-129 Flying Bat and OU-4 Giant Squid Nebulae. This image still isn’t great – but better than the one I posted last year (I believe). Enjoy this reminder/teaser and stand by for more!!
With the return of nebula visibility…let the imaging obsession continue
I’ve used the clear nights in May (12th, 17th, and 26th) to ring out the issues I’ve been having with my equipment since my return from the Southern Hemisphere trip (which have been many and varied).
The visibility of nebulae targets is beginning late in the evening (at/after 2300MDT), but has been giving me the chance to get a glimpse of the Cepheus constellation nebulae, including my OCD-focus from last year, SH2-129/OU-4.
I gathered data over the three nights using the Southern Cross, ASI2400MC camera with an OIII filter to enhance the data I captured last year on the OU-4 Giant Squid (blue) portion of the image. I combined RGB data from Jun-Sep 2023 with the OIII data captured on 12, 17, and 26 May 2024 to create the image you see here. I believe it’s better than the image I created late last year, but still not great. So there will be more – hopefully captured in dark skies that does not require the processing gymnastics that this one did!
The gallery image is: https://beersastrophotography.com/gallery/sh2-129-flying-bat-ou-4-giant-squid-nebulae/ with target fun facts and the information about the data capture.