Cygnus Loop

About the Subject

The Cygnus Loop, also known as the Veil Nebula, is a supernova remnant lying in the constellation Cygnus at a distance of roughly 2,400 lightyears. It covers a large section of sky, about three degrees across or more than six time the size of the full moon. The diameter of the nebula is around 120 lightyears, indicating the supernova that created the nebula occurred approximately 20,000 years ago.

Hydrogen Alpha Image

Date, Location, and Equipment

  • August 14 - September 8, 2024, Rowe, NM

  • Astro-Physics 305mm Riccardi-Honders Cassegrain, f/3.8

  • Astro-Physics 1100GTO AE Mount with Absolute Encoders

  • QHY600PH Monochrome Camera at -10°C

  • Chroma 50mm x 50mm filters

    • 3nm H-Alpha

    • 3nm OIII

    • RGB

  • 27h30m H-alpha, 27h45m OIII, 4h40m RGB

  • 12 panel mosaic, all panels binned 2x2

Software:

  • Astro-Physics APCC for mount control and advanced pointing model

  • NINA for autofocus, sequence of images, and camera control

  • PHD2 for guiding

  • PixInsight for calibration and all post processing

This is a bi-color image using narrowband filters capturing H-alpha and OIII wavelengths of light. The colors were mapped using the HOO process where hydrogen is mapped to red and oxygen is mapped to both green and blue. The narrowband image was merged with a separate set of exposures for RGB stars in order to create a more natural appearing final result.