This image captured at Grand Mesa Observatory over many nights in the fall of 2023 highlights a very faint area of H II region (region of interstellar atomic hydrogen that is ionized) in the constellation Cygnus. This object is commonly referred to as the Dragon Nebula or SH2-114 in the Sharpless Catalog of objects. For sure there is a resemblance of a dragon in the central part where one seems to be in flight, there is also what looks like a serpentine dragon just below the one in flight. There are a lot of interesting contours and features in this area, try zooming in to see the more delicate structures. This represents 20 hours and 50 minutes of Hydrogen Alpha data and 9 hours of RGB data.
H II Region info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H_II_region
This object was captured using system 1 at Grand Mesa Observatory which is available for subscriptions for data sets as well as archived data sets for purchase. More info about this can be found here: https://grandmesaobservatory.com/equipment-rentals
Grand Mesa Observatory also has 3 available piers for rental, if you are interested check out more info here: https://grandmesaobservatory.com/telescope-hosting
Technical info:
Image captured and processed by Kim Quick and Tom Masterson
Location: Grand Mesa Observatory, Whitewater, CO. www.grandmesaobservatory.com
RGB: 9hrs
Ha: 20hrs 50min
Camera: QHY600m
Filters: Chroma RGB Ha
Optics: Takahashi FSQ 130 APO Refractor @ F5
EQ Mount: Paramount ME
Image Acquisition Software: N.I.N.A.
Image processing in PixInsight and Photoshop CC
C L E A R S K I E S
Tom