Thermonuclear Garden
Closup and hi-res on
instagram.com/baz_astra5200 light-years from Earth, a flash of thermonuclear ignition propelled a stellar garden into existence. Easily large enough to contain our entire solar system ten million times back-to-back, the massive Rosette Nebula is a flower on a galactic scale; a region of space carved by wind and radiation from the birth of new stars.
Dust lanes puncture the interior of the nebula, slowly winding intricate dark spires throughout the core as they collapse under gravity while being sculpted by hypersonic shockwaves of scorching plasma radiating at 10 million degrees celsius.
Despite the immense scale of the Rosette Nebula, its density is incredibly low. If you could measure a scoop the size of the Earth, it would weigh only a few kilograms!
This dramatic, and I believe unique perspective on the Rosette Nebula, was produced by imaging the object primarily in the Oxygen spectrum. Additional colour was added by collecting light from the Hydrogen and Sulphur emissions. In technical terms, this is an OHS narrowband composite - an ‘Inverse Hubble’ palette.
I’m continually impressed at how far the William Optics Redcat 51 can be pushed. For such a small beginner scope, it really delivers the goods. I couldn’t imagine I’d be taking photographs like this when I started out just over two years ago!
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TECHNICAL DATA:
Spectral Palette: OHS
Exposures:
80 x 300s Oxygen-III (6.7 hrs)
93 x 300s Hydrogen-alpha (7.8hrs)
50 x 300s Sulfur-II (4.1hrs)
Total = 18.6 hours
Camera: ASI 1600MM Pro
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro
Telescope: William Optics Redcat 51
Guiding: ZWO ASIAIR
Software: APP + PI + PS
Sky type: Bortle 4
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