NGC6203, aka the Butterfly or Bug Nebula, is a beautiful planetary nebula in Scorpius located approx 3400ly away. It is a bi-polar PN which has given rise to its fascinating structure - taking on the shape of a butterfly with outstretched wings. The central star is estimated to be around 250,000 degrees, one of the hottest known stars. The core of the nebula is exceptionally bright, but once tamed, almost seems to take on the shape of the butterfly's body.
This has been captured using just over 15hrs of data in 2min subs with the L-Ultimate filter, and approx 1.5hrs of RGB of 30sec subs for the stars. Channel extraction and LP removal in APP, and additional post processing in PI. I was quite ruthless in which data to keep in order to extract as much detail as possible. I opted for the HOO combination as I thought it suited the target well.
I was interested to see that there was quite a bit of Ha nebulosity extending well beyond the main body of the PN, as well as some background Ha snaking through the image too. More hours would certainly reveal this better, but I think it may just clutter the scene.
Larger Version Here
C14 non edge @f7 with the Starizona reducer LF
EQ8 pro
Asi2600mc pro gain-100
Asi220mm / celestron OAG
ZWO EAF
ASIAIR pro / APP / PI
Comments greatly appreciated! Thanks for dropping in!
