Katelyn Beecroft’s image of the beautiful nebula in Cygnus, a favourite of hers, won Photo of the Week for the period of November 5-11, 2022. 

The North America Nebula, also known as NGC7000, is an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus. Its shape is reminiscent of the continent of North America, hence the name.

Shot in London, Ontario, Beecroft took the image on October 4, 2022 with a ZWO ASI533MC and an Askar FRA400. The focal ratio was f/5.6, and exposure time was four hours.

“When I first opened and stretched the stacked master file, I was blown away with how much detail was visible for such a short integration time,” she said in her submission. “I decided to process in a false Hubble palette to make it even more different from my original image, and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.”

Judges said they liked the “earthy texture and colour” of NGC7000, noting that the nebula “contains some solid detail.”

Honourable mention

Philippe Moussette gets an honourable mention for his photo of the total lunar eclipse on November 8, 2022 at the Quaie Paquet in Lévis, Québec. The photo was taken from across the river, in Lévis, to include a view of the historic hotel Château Frontenac, which is based in Québec City. He used a Canon EOS R3 and a Canon EF 300mm (f/2.8).

Judges said the image features a “nice balance of colours” and is “pleasing to look at.” They add that the photo is “almost perfectly framed, with a nice interesting foreground subject and a nicely exposed lunar eclipse.”