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The Giant Squid Nebula (Ou4) 4 months ago 2.2k views5800×36007.14 MB
The Giant Squid Nebula (Ou4)
In 41 groups

Backyard
Bortle
7
N

Cep
21h
12m
2s
·
+59°
57′
32″
1.31° × 0.81°
0.81″/px
269.83°N
Integration
Equipment
Telescope | |
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Mount | |
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Accessory | |
Software |
Objects
Description
The realization of this picture is a challenge I had been thinking about for several years but that I had never had the courage to face until now, given the extreme difficulty of the object discovered just 14 years ago. I found the inspiration after 4 years of experience in acquisition and hundreds of processed images to obtain a more than decent result, despite shooting from home with an average SQM around 18.5 (Bortle 7).
The acquisition of the frames kept me busy for 2 months in which I managed to take advantage of every good moment of the 20 nights that the weather gave me (not all optimal, however). Unexpectedly, the processing was easier than I thought, perhaps also due to the consistent integration.
The object of this picture needs no introduction for astrophotography enthusiasts. It is, in fact, the so-called Giant Squid Nebula (Ou4) which has as its "background" a part of the Bat Nebula (Sh2-129).
Outters 4 (Ou4), also known as the Giant Squid Nebula, is a very faint planetary nebula in the constellation of Cepheus, discovered only in June 2011 by amateur astronomer Nicolas Outters. Ou4 appears to be completely surrounded by the reddish hydrogen emission region Sh2-129 but its true distance and nature have been difficult to determine. A recent investigation suggests that Ou4 is actually located within Sh2-129, about 2300 light-years away. If so, Ou4 would represent a spectacular outflow generated by HR8119, a triple system of hot and massive stars that can be observed near the center of the nebula and would have a physical diameter of almost 50 light-years.
The acquisition of the frames kept me busy for 2 months in which I managed to take advantage of every good moment of the 20 nights that the weather gave me (not all optimal, however). Unexpectedly, the processing was easier than I thought, perhaps also due to the consistent integration.
The object of this picture needs no introduction for astrophotography enthusiasts. It is, in fact, the so-called Giant Squid Nebula (Ou4) which has as its "background" a part of the Bat Nebula (Sh2-129).
Outters 4 (Ou4), also known as the Giant Squid Nebula, is a very faint planetary nebula in the constellation of Cepheus, discovered only in June 2011 by amateur astronomer Nicolas Outters. Ou4 appears to be completely surrounded by the reddish hydrogen emission region Sh2-129 but its true distance and nature have been difficult to determine. A recent investigation suggests that Ou4 is actually located within Sh2-129, about 2300 light-years away. If so, Ou4 would represent a spectacular outflow generated by HR8119, a triple system of hot and massive stars that can be observed near the center of the nebula and would have a physical diameter of almost 50 light-years.
Revision: Original
Published 4 months ago
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