Hi All,
It’s been a rather productive of late on the remote imaging front. New moon, clear skies and excellent seeing as this image will attest.
So, I’m pleased to present my latest effort:
NGC2264 - The Cone Nebula.
About the target;
Located in the constellation Monoceros, the Cone Nebula (NGC2264) is part of a greater formation of nebulosity known as the Christmas tree. The cone is a stellar nursery comprising of cold molecular hydrogen and dust, producing a dark absorption nebula. These properties mask the vibrant red hues of hydrogen atoms being ionized by the bright star S Monocerotos. The Cone Nebula resides approximately 2,500 light-years away.
About the image;
I’m going to cut this short (you can send me a PM or email for processing info if you so desire). The image is a L+[Ha+R]+RGB composite with a total exposure time of 4.5 hours (L:90min,Ha:180min,R:60min,G:60min, B:60min). It was acquired on
Lightbuckets RCOS 20” F/8.1 (4115mm FL) located at Mayhill, New Mexico (altitude of 2220 meters with great seeing experienced at the time of acquisition).
Quite some processing on this image, plenty of deconvolution blends and USMasking to tease out the structure along with some heavy noise reduction due to the limited data quantity – certainly could do with more.
2400x1800 provided for your viewing pleasure.
Thanks for looking. I hope you enjoy!
