Here's a picture of The Soul Nebula (click here for a larger version). This object is catalogued as IC1848, Sharpless 2-199, and various others. My picture only shows part of the overall complex; when a wider field is displayed, the whole thing takes on the form of a human fetus, thus it is also known as the Fetus Nebula.
I first became aware of this nebula from an unbelievable image taken by my good friend Dean. That image leaves me awestruck, and I knew that I would have to make my own attempt at capturing it. So for the past week I have been trying to grab opportunities to point the telescope at it. This week has been rather poor for amateur astronomers in Tucson, as we have had high winds and rather poor seeing conditions (not to mention the full moon, which is currently riding a path that takes it quite high in the sky). However, I managed to shoot 2 hours worth of data in each of the 3 narrowband filters (12x10minutes each). The poor seeing carried through to lower resolution in the image, but I decided to go ahead and process it anyway.
The "Soul Nebula" is an appropriate name as it makes me reflect on the effect of my hobby on my own soul. Other avid amateurs will understand when I say that my stargazing times are perhaps the most peaceful and refreshing times of life. Regardless of the outcome of the day, no matter what craziness, disappointments, and pressures are dragging me down, a few hours at an eyepiece or imaging with the ccd can restore my balance.
No comments:
Post a Comment