The Soul Nebula (Sharpless 2-199, LBN 667) is a large emission nebula located in the constellation Cassiopeia. It is estimated to be approximately 6,000 light years from Earth, and is about 100 light years across. Several small open star clusters are embedded in this nebula.
This and the nearby Heart Nebula form the famous pair known as the Heart and Soul.
This two-panel mosaic was acquired over two nights, but each night wasn't dedicated to just one panel. I plan mosaics to divide each night's imaging time among all the panels, so at least I'll have something on each panel if subsequent nights are wiped out by weather.
| Exposure |
• Two mosaic panels over two nights • 6½ hours total exposure per panel • 39 subframes per panel, each 10 minutes @ -20°C • Dusk flats • Camera position angle: 0° |
| Processing |
• With PixInsight: ☞ Calibrate, star-align, and integrate subframes ☞ Background neutralization ☞ Coordinate-align subframes ☞ Photometric mosaic ☞ Histogram transformation • Noise reduction with Topaz DeNoise AI • Final sizing in Photoshop CS6 |
| Date and Location |
• 2020: November 18 & 19 • Louisa County, Virginia, USA |
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Equipment |
• TMB-130SS APO refractor @ f/7 on an A-P 1200 mount • ZWO ASI-1600MC Pro color camera • Guided with an ST-402 camera on a 60mm f/5 scope • Imaging and autoguiding with MaxIm DL 6.20 • Automated image acquisition with ACP Observatory Control |
Updated May 23, 2023