The image above is a July 2023 reprocess of the original data from 2021. It drops the H-alpha data from the mix and uses current tools and techniques. It emphasizes the detail in the reflection nebula and doesn’t try to pull out every last detail int he background. I think this is a much more successful version of the nebula! This new version is 23.5 hours of LRGB data compared the 29 hours of HaLRGB data from the original version.

There’s a lot going on in this section of the galaxy: reflection nebula, dust, hydrogen alpha emission although the NGC 7219 designation refers just to the reflection nebula. That reflection nebula is about 3,300 light years away in Cepheus.

This is nearly 29 hours of integration and I really felt like it could use more. It’s a tough target to process and I’m not 100% happy with my result but for the moment it’s going to have to do.

You can find all the technical details at astrobin.