Targets

Lower's Nebula 2025

Lower’s Nebula: A Three-Filter Journey Through Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Sulfur

Processing a faint winter target with 28 hours of data across SV220, Askar D2, and LPRO filters

Revisiting a Faint Winter Target

Lower’s Nebula in Canis Major doesn’t show up on many “best of winter” lists. It’s faint, it’s diffuse, and it lives in a part of the sky dominated by flashier neighbors like the Rosette and IC 410. But with enough integration time and the right filter combination, it rewards patience — and after January’s bird-poop-on-the-lens incident, I was ready for a target that would pay off rather than punish.

October Imaging Update

This month has brought clear skies to Texas and lots of imaging time. I’ve managed to capture a few targets including: North America Nebula, Clam Nebula, Tulip Nebula, and Orion’s Nebula.

These image sessions were all driven by NINA, and have revolutionized imaging sessions for me. There is no longer a need to sit and watch the telescope while it images, I have managed to automate the process and capture 2-3 targets in a night. I’m quite pleased with the transition from Stellarmate, however I do miss the ease of using an app to control everything.

Targets and Upcoming Plans

The Veil Nebula

The Veil Nebula is a beautiful target that has been visible for most of June through August. The Veil Nebula is relatively dim for me because it’s the remains of a supernova and is mostly super-heated gas. Since it was available for so long I decided to try to capture various aspects of it. I started with the Western Veil, NGC 6960, and moved to Eastern Veil, NGC 6995. After a few nights on those popular targets, I noticed there was much more to be seen within the whole complex of the Veil Nebula. So, I started taking pictures of a nebulous region, NGC 6974. This is close to the Pickering’s Triangle and gives a different perspective of this region.