NGC246 Skull Nebula (Planetary) - HOORGB

[Doogs38 (Alex)]

Hi folks. I obtained about 16hrs of HORGB data for the Skull Nebula (NGC246, a Planetary Nebula ... my first such target) Aug-Sep 24 but didn't have time to process it. Tis now done! The data is terrible, especially RGB; moon-induced gradients were strong and I couldn't remove the worst of it, hence I've slightly cropped the final image and pushed the histogram close to clipping the black end. I'll have to reshoot this target under more favourable conditions.

Details are: HOORGB image, stacked and edited in PI, and PS.
Edge HD 8", ASI294MM (Bin 2), OAG with ASI174, AZ-EQ6 mount, NINA
Ha - 3h 52m
Oiii - 3h 24m
R - 3h 21m
G - 3h 2m
B - 2h 40m
RGB stars

As always, sharing for fun. Hi-res version here. Thanks for looking. Alex

[Anth10 (Anthony M)]

Alex,
This is an interesting planetary neb, one that’s sometimes overlooked with thors helmet stealing the show in nearby proximity.
Intricate details nicely revealed within the skull with the help of the Ha and OIII integration. Colour is not easy to achieve for this object which you’ve managed well.
Anth

[Dave882 (David)]

That’s a great image. I’ve seen this around before but never had a go myself. Thanks for sharing your efforts even though yea I think it’s suffered from noise/gradients. It’s an interesting target indeed! Great stuff!

[Plossl68 (Paul)]

Great image Alex and thanks for posting the hi-res version. I love that you can so clearly make out the double star and their tonal differences.
Cheers,
Paul

[Doogs38 (Alex)]

Thanks Anthony, Dave and Paul. I reckon I’ll have another crack later this year and without the moon making a mess of things Alex