IC 2177 - Seagull Nebula Widefield (HaRGB)

IC 2177 (a.k.a. Seagull Nebula) is on the border of the constellations of Monoceros (The Unicorn) and Canis Major (The Great Dog) approximately 3700 light-years away.  This very popular object is a thick cloud of mainly hydrogen gas and dust spans over 100 light-years.  The head is illuminated by the bright star, HD 53367, located in the eye socket while other young stars in the region supply the radiation necessary for the reddish glow of the rest of the nebula.

I used a Canon 200mm lens with my old T3i/600d modified to capture this widefield shot and was a little disappointed not to get more surrounding nebulosity.  On the other hand this object sits low in the sky facing the most light polluted direction from my yard so it is not totally surprising.  I used the Astronomik 12nm clip-in filter to collect the most of the nebulosity and also the Astronomik Ultra High Contrast filter (UHC) for the RGB data.  UHC filters aren't considered true narrowband filters but are the most restrictive broadband (i.e. most NB of the broadband).  They let in a range, rather than a specific wavelength, that covers OIII and Hb and a second range that covers Ha and SII.  they were popular a few years back however have now been replaced by filters such as the L-Enhance, L-Extreme, and Triad which really are narrowband filters for one-shot color (OSC) cameras.  I left it as a widefield image as I like how it faces the star cluster, M50, on the left - it looks like it is staring at it.

I will have a higher resolution narrowband of the head region taken with my telescope soon.

IC 2177 - The Seagull Nebula
Dates: 2-20-21, 3-2-21, 3-4-21, 3-7-21, 3-9-21
Camera: Canon T3i/600D modified
Lens: Canon 200mm f/2.8L II USM
Focal Length: 200mm
f/3.5
Mount: Orion Sirius
Filter: Astronomik Ha Clip-in, Astronomik UHC Clip-in 
Autoguiding: None
Exposure: Ha 229 x 60, UHC 132 x 60
Temp: -2 C
Processing: PixInsight, Photoshop, Topaz DeNoiseAI.

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IC 443 - Jellyfish Nebula

IC 443, a.k.a. SH2-248, is commonly called the Jellyfish nebula for its similar appearance to the marine sea creature.  It is a giant supernova remnant (SNR) located approximately 5000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Gemini.  The exact age is uncertain, however, it is believed that the supernova event that produced what we see now occurred some 3,000 to 30,000 years ago.  Recent research from the Chandra X-ray observatory indicates that the explosion that formed the nebula also created a neutron star or pulsar and further suggest the age is likely tens of thousands of years old making the 30,000 year old age more likely. 

My favorite parts of this nebula are the stringers at the base of the main body and the high density area on the top left side of the main body where it seems to explode outward.  I was imaging this for quite a while starting when the moon was out capturing a couple hours or so per night for a total of 12 nights.  Of course I had to trash quite a few sub frames due to the marvelous Connecticut sky conditions.  Processing was straight forward and I did few new things that I picked up from others.  I like removing the stars with Starnet++ but I always have trouble putting them back but this time I think I did OK.  I have to Starnet++ the old fashioned, through Windows, as the last time PixInsight updated it stopped working.

Dates: 2-4-21, 2-5-21, 2-8-21, 2-9-21, 2-20-21, 2-25-21, 3-1-21, 3-2-21, 3-3-21, 3-4-21, 3-5-21

https://kurtzeppetello.smugmug.com/
http://astroquest1.blogspot.com/
https://www.astrobin.com/users/kurtzepp/collections/
http://youtube.com/c/AstroQuest1

IC 443 - Jellyfish Nebula (a.k.a. SH2-248)
Dates: 2-4-21, 2-5-21, 2-8-21, 2-9-21, 2-20-21, 2-25-21, 3-1-21, 3-2-21, 3-3-21, 3-4-21, 3-5-21
Camera: ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro 

Telescope: Astro-Tech AT115EDT 115mm Refractor Telescope
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 805mm
f/7
Focal Reducer: 0.8x AstroTech Field Flatterner/Focal Reducer
Mount: Orion Sirius
Filter Wheel: ZWO EFW 8 x 1.25"
Filter: ZWO Ha, OIII, SII, R, G, B
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Autoguiding: ASI120 Mini attached to an Agena 50mm Guide Scope/ZWO 60mm Guidescope
Exposure: Ha 72 x 240, OIII 72 x 240, SII 73 x 240, R 40 x 60, G 40 x 60, B 40 x 60
Gain: 139
Offset 21
Temp: -2 C
Processing: NINA, PixInsight, Photoshop, Topaz DeNoiseAI.

https://kurtzeppetello.smugmug.com/
http://astroquest1.blogspot.com/
https://www.astrobin.com/users/kurtzepp/collections/
http://youtube.com/c/AstroQuest1