NGC 6302 - The Butterfly Neb

[TR (Terry)]

https://www.flickr.com/photos/978070...in/dateposted/

Zoomed in a bit: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...25ce55f3_o.jpg

NGC 6302 is a bipolar planetary nebula in the constellation Scorpius. It is also known the Bug Nebula, Butterfly Nebula, or Caldwell 69.

NGC 6302 resembles a butterfly with its wings outstretched. It is perhaps one of the most complex ever observed planetary nebulae. It has many dramatic areas, some containing roiling cauldrons of superheated gas along the areas resembling wings too thick dust concealing its heart. Superheated gas is moving through space at more than 950 000 kilometres per hour. At that speed, you could travel from the Earth to the Moon in around 24 minutes! Incredible.

The central star is one of the hottest stars known, with a surface temperature in excess of 250,000 degrees Celsius. This suggests that the star must have been enormous.

These cosmic trainwrecks always seem to leave the most beautiful structures in their wake. I created this image using cooled CCD monochromatic astronomical cameras with seven filters. A luminance filter captured most of the detail, followed by red, green, and blue filters to fill cre ate a traditional colour image. I then used SII, Ha, and OIII narrowband for a bit of extra structure and additional hues to balance the shot while trying to retain a traditional RGB colour image.

Instruments:
Telescope: 10" Ritchey-Chrétien RCOS
Camera: SBIG STL-11000 Mono
Mount: Astro-Physics AP-900
Focal Length: 2310.00 mm
Pixel size: 9.00 um
Resolution: 0.82 arcsec/pix

Exposure Details:
Red 18X600
Green 12X600
Blue 19X600
Lum 59X600
Ha 29X1200
SII 15X1200
OIII 28X1200

Total Exposure: 42 Hours

Thanks for looking

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

This object is around again already , aaah, winter is finally upon us Nice one Terry, lots of exposure there too

How's the site sharing with Sidereal Trading going?

Mike

[Dave882 (David)]

Fantastic shot! Marvellous detail and colour and depth
I’ve had a couple of goes at this target with my c14 but never been able to truely nail it. Needs excellent conditions and acquisition. You’ve done a wonderful job!!

[Retrograde (Pete)]

That is excellent Terry! Lovely image.

[marc4darkskies (Marcus)]

A big effort with a great result Terry! Colours and detail are impressive! Well done!

[Andy01 (Andy)]

A first class result there, Terry - really well done!

[TR (Terry)]

Originally Posted by strongmanmike

This object is around again already , aaah, winter is finally upon us Nice one Terry, lots of exposure there too

How's the site sharing with Sidereal Trading going?

Mike

Cheers Mike. A fun object to process. All good with the site and guys.

Originally Posted by Dave882

Fantastic shot! Marvellous detail and colour and depth
I’ve had a couple of goes at this target with my c14 but never been able to truely nail it. Needs excellent conditions and acquisition. You’ve done a wonderful job!!

It was a little challenging to process, it's crazy bright.

Originally Posted by Retrograde

That is excellent Terry! Lovely image.

Thanks man. Exploding stuff in the cosmos leaves us with great targets for sure.

Originally Posted by marc4darkskies

A big effort with a great result Terry! Colours and detail are impressive! Well done!

Thanks Marc. It's small, I think a longer focal length would greatly help.

Originally Posted by Andy01

A first class result there, Terry - really well done!

Thanks Andy. I like these smaller objects.

[Joshua Bunn (Joshua)]

Awesome result Terry, What a cracker! Well done

[TR (Terry)]

Originally Posted by Joshua Bunn

Awesome result Terry, What a cracker! Well done

Thanks Josh.