This is an image of IC 1848, known also as the Soul Nebula. This nickname comes from the perceived shape of a human fetus, floating in the womb of the Milky Way Galaxy. This is a semi-false color image taken through narrowband filters, where Hydrogen Alpha is mapped to Red, Oxygen III is mapped to Green, and Sulphur II is mapped to Blue. This image represents 6 hours of integration time.
This was not framed exactly right as I cut off the “head” of the nebula! It was a little too big for the 400mm focal length – I guess some day I will reimage it more properly framed!
More about the object: Westerhout 5 (Sharpless 2-199, LBN 667, Soul Nebula) is an emission nebula located in Cassiopeia. Several small open clusters are embedded in the nebula: CR 34, 632, and 634 (in the head) and IC 1848 (in the body). The object is more commonly called by the cluster designation IC 1848.
Image Info
This was taken with the newly upgraded travel astrophotography kit from Key West, FL, and from the KPO field in Saint Cloud, FL.
- Camera : ZWO ASI1600MM pro
- Lens: Canon 100-400 f/5.6L lens, set to 400mm
- Mount: iOptron SmartEQ Pro
- Hydrogen Alpha: 24 subframes of 300s = 120min integration
- Oxygen III: 24 subframes of 300s = 120min integration
- Sulfur: 24 subframes of 300s = 120 min integration
- Total integration time: 360min = 6 hours.
- Captured via ASIAir Pro automation
- Optical tracking via ASIAir automation, currently using ST4 mount control via the ASI120MM-S guide camera
- Separate channels stacked and RGB integrated in Astro Pixel Processor
- Final processing in Aperture