This is a 4-panel (2x2) mosaic to capture the full Cygnus Loop. Along the short edge, the photo spans about 3.5 degrees; 7 full moons.
I've shared other photos of supernovae remnants but most are rather dim, unlike this one where you can see all the wispy clouds of gas looking almost like smoke drifting and curling.
Edge-to-edge, the nebula is about 120 light years across, and an estimated 20,000 years old, and is 1,500 light years away. If the distance from the Sun to Pluto were an inch (the size of a quarter), the Loop would be 37 miles away (the distance between DC and Frederick, Md, or Tiffin and Sandusky OH), and would be 3 miles across.
Each panel is 2 hours each of H, S, O, and 30 min each of R, G, B.
Stacked in Pixinsight, mosaic assembled in AstroPixelProcessor, and then processed back in Pixinsight.
Thanks to
@Charles Bracken for his mosaic presentation to the NOVAC imaging group and all the tips he shared. It was a perfect nudge to finish this little project.
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