In the rich, dusty expanse of Cepheus lies a jewel of the night sky—NGC 7023, better known as the Iris Nebula. This reflection nebula glows a striking blue as it reflects the light of a young, hot star—HD 200775—embedded within a cocoon of interstellar dust. Capturing this cosmic bloom was both a challenge and a joy, one that unfolded over 16 hours and 9 minutes of integration.

Image Acquisition Details

This image was taken using the following setup:

• Telescope: William Optics FLT 91 (Fluorostar 91)

• Camera: ZWO ASI294MM Pro (monochrome)

• Mount: ZWO AM5

• Filters: Antlia V-Pro (1.25") Luminance, Red, Green, Blue

• Accessories: William Optics Flat6A III reducer/flattener, ZWO ASIAIR Pro

• Software: PixInsight, Photoshop, and the full suite of Russell Croman’s tools — BlurXTerminator, NoiseXTerminator, and StarXTerminator
  
  

Integration Breakdown

A total of 117 luminance exposures at 300 seconds each built the foundation of detail and dynamic range, totaling 9h 45m.
The RGB color channels were captured with:

• Red: 2h 6m (42 x 180")

• Green: 2h 3m (41 x 180")

• Blue: 2h 15m (45 x 180")

Together, this LRGB combination allowed the Iris’s delicate hues and dark, dusty filaments to come alive in high resolution.

About the Iris Nebula

NGC 7023 is not an emission nebula like many of its fiery red cousins—it’s a reflection nebula, where dust reflects the light of nearby stars. This makes color capture particularly dependent on high-quality RGB filters and long exposures. The nebula resides approximately 1,300 light-years from Earth, and the blue glow is caused by scattering, similar to why our sky appears blue.

Surrounding the bright blue center are wisps of interstellar dust, intricately detailed thanks to the high luminance integration and the resolving power of the FLT91. These dusty tendrils form part of a larger dark nebula complex cataloged as LBN 487.

Processing Notes

Processing the Iris required a careful blend of precision and restraint. Tools like BlurXTerminator helped bring out fine detail in the luminance layer without over-sharpening. NoiseXTerminator cleaned up background gradients and thermal noise, especially important given the long integration on the luminance channel. StarXTerminator was key in creating a clean starless version for dynamic stretching and then blending the stars back in naturally.

Color balance was achieved through PixInsight, with final tonal adjustments and contrast enhancement performed in Adobe Photoshop.

Final Thoughts

The Iris Nebula is a study in subtlety—its glowing center framed by soft shadows and delicate gradients. It's a favorite target for astrophotographers looking to test both their skies and their skills. This image represents not only hours under the stars but also the silent beauty that waits in the darkness—revealed only through patience, planning, and the right tools.

📌 View this image on AstroBin:
👉 https://app.astrobin.com/i/t8ckzm

📷 Follow me on Instagram for more deep space captures:
👉 https://www.instagram.com/astrodarks/

My recent capture of M33, the Triangulum Galaxy, has revealed some breathtaking details within this deep-space gem! At about 2.73 million light-years away, M33 is a spiral galaxy rich with HII and OIII regions—each telling a different story about the galaxy’s star-forming activity.

The HII regions I captured are glowing red patches scattered across the spiral arms. These are immense clouds of ionized hydrogen gas, energized by the intense radiation of young, massive stars. HII regions are the birthplace of stars, where dense clouds of gas and dust come together, igniting new stars that light up these stellar nurseries. M33 has some of the largest HII regions known, like NGC 604, which dwarfs many similar nebulae in our Milky Way!

Equally fascinating are the OIII regions, visible as bluish-green areas in the image. OIII, or doubly ionized oxygen, shines in a distinct hue thanks to even hotter and younger stars that produce intense ultraviolet light. This UV energy excites the oxygen atoms, creating a beautiful, unique color. These regions often mark some of the most energetic and recently active zones in M33, showing just how dynamic and alive this galaxy is.

Seeing both the HII and OIII regions side by side in M33 really shows just how layered and complex a galaxy can be. These are spots where new stars are being born and areas full of energy, all lighting up the galaxy’s spiral arms. Capturing this from my backyard reminds me of the sheer size and beauty of the universe—places where new stars and elements are forming, millions of light-years away. 

Acquisition Details:

Telescope: Skywatcher Esprit 120ED

Camera : ZWO 294MM Pro

Mount: ZWO AM5

Filters: Astrodon LRGBHO

Total Exposure: 33 hrs 42 mins

Presenting a project continued from last year. CTB1 or Abell 85, the Garlic Pop Nebula!

CTB 1 is a supernova remnant in the Cassiopeia constellation. It was originally cataloged by George Abell as a planetary nebula. Later discoveries revealed that CTB 1 is actually a very faint supernova remnant, about the size of the full moon. It's approximately 10,000 light-years from Earth and is approximately 100 light years in diameter.

The hydrogen-alpha shell is extremely faint, and was just barely visible in a 5-minute sub-exposure from a mono camera. Being in Bortle 7 didn't help either. Revealing the full circular shape was definitely going to be a challenge, so I spent a few nights on this object for a total exposure time of 60 hours (Including 10 hrs of OSC narrowband data from last year).

Acquisition Details:

Telescope: @oriontelescopes EON 115mm EDT

Camera : @zwo_astronomy_cameras 294MM Pro/294MC Pro

Mount: @skywatcherusa EQ6R pro

Filters: @optolongfilter Lextreme, Astronomik SHO 7nm filters

@svbonyastronomy 60mm guidescope

Total Exposure: 60 hours

The Heart Nebula, IC805, imaged in Hubble Palette. This is an emission nebula and star forming region of almost 200 light-years across, located within the Perseus Arm of our Milky Way galaxy, about 7500 light-years away in constellation Cassiopeia.

In the center is Melotte 15, an open cluster of stars, which contains a few bright stars nearly 50 times the mass of our Sun, and many more dim stars that are only a fraction of our Sun's mass. Also visible are massive cosmic clouds sculpted by stellar winds and radiation from the massive hot stars of the Melotte 15

One interesting find was a planetary nebula, WeBo1, just north of the heart! The nebula is a thin ring of glowing gas that surrounds a binary star system.

Acquisition Details:

Scope: RedCat 51

Mount: Explore Scientific iExos 100

Imaging Camera: ASI183MMPro

Filters: Astronomik 7nm SHO

Bortle 7

Total Integrated Exposure: 28 hrs 

M31 - The Andromeda galaxy at 2.5 million light years away from us!

Satellite galaxies, M110 and M32, are clearly visible. While editing this image, I found a tiny smudge directly below M110. When I looked it up on Simbad, I saw that it was catalogued as UGC 394, a galaxy that 267 Million Light years away from us! When photons from these galaxies, captured by my camera, started their journey, Earth was in the Mesozoic era, the age of the reptiles! 

Shooting the Elephants Trunk nebula second time this season. Yes, I cannot get enough of this target.

3000 light years away from us, the Elephant's Trunk Nebula winds through the emission nebula and young star cluster complex IC 1396, in the high and far off constellation of Cepheus. Of course, the cosmic elephant's trunk is over 20 light-years long. This composite was recorded through narrow band filters that transmit the light from ionized hydrogen, sulfur, and oxygen atoms in the region. The resulting image highlights the bright swept-back ridges that outline pockets of cool interstellar dust and gas. Such embedded, dark, tendril-shaped clouds contain the raw material for star formation and hide protostars within the obscuring cosmic dust.

Acquisition Details:

Scope: Orion 115mm EDT

Mount: EQ6-R Pro

Imaging Camera: ASI294MMPro

Filters: Astronomik 7nm SHO

Bortle 7

Total Integrated Exposure: 23 hrs 

100 X 300s Ha96 X 300s Oiii81 X 300s SII