Some of the most fascinating objects to look at in our known universe are what are known as emission nebulae, and the winner for the week of August 14, 2020 chose such a target.
Ronald Brecher won Photo of the Week with his stunning image of the faint Sharpless 2-112 nebula, which is situated in the constellation Cygnus about 5,600 light-years away from Earth.
“This nebula does not seem to be a particularly popular imaging target, though I am not sure why. It is quite beautiful,” he wrote.
Brecher acquired the data from his SkyShed in Guelph, Ontario under mostly-moonless skies July 23-30.
The luminance and hydrogen alpha data was acquired using a Sky-Watcher Esprit 150 f/7 refractor and QHY 16200-A camera with Optolong UV/IR and H-alpha filter, while the chrominance data was taken using the Takahashi FSQ-106 ED IV at f/5 and QHY367C Pro one-shot colour camera with Optolong UV/IR filter.
The detailed processing of the image definitely paid off, as the end product is a very well coloured and very well-defined capture of Sharpless 2-112.
