First Light with a New Guide Setup: Capturing the North America Nebula in SHO

It's always an exciting moment when a new piece of gear is put to the test, and this time, it's my newly acquired guidescope and camera combination. After much anticipation, I finally got around to setting up and capturing my first image with this complete setup. To make things even more interesting, I decided to experiment with a different processing method, opting for an SHO (Sulphur II, Hydrogen-alpha, Oxygen III) narrowband palette instead of the more traditional red-hued H-alpha images.

The Celestial Target: NGC 7000 - The North America Nebula

The North America Nebula, cataloged as NGC 7000, is a vast emission nebula located in the constellation Cygnus. Its distinctive shape, resembling the continent of North America, makes it a popular target for astrophotographers.

The Gear Behind the Shot

Achieving clear and detailed deep-sky images requires a well-calibrated setup. Here's the equipment that made this capture possible:

• Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC Pro
• Scope: William Optics Zenithstar 61 II with a Flat61A flattener, providing a focal length of 360mm at F5.9.
• Guiding: ZWO 120mm F4 combined with a ZWO 120MM mini. This dual-guiding system ensures precise tracking.
• Mount: Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer GTI (SWSA GTI), known for its portability and tracking capabilities.
• Filter: L-Enhance 2" filter, designed to capture specific emission lines.

Acquisition Details

Quality data is the foundation of any good astrophoto. Here's a breakdown of the acquisition parameters:

• Lights: 76 frames x 180 seconds each, totaling a significant 3 hours and 48 minutes of exposure time.
• Darks: 30 frames x 180 seconds, used to calibrate thermal noise.
• Bias: 50 frames x 32 μs, to capture read noise.
• Flats: 50 frames, essential for correcting vignetting and dust motes.

Processing the Nebula

Processing is where the magic truly happens, transforming raw data into a visually striking image. The workflow involved several key steps using PixInsight (PI):

1. Stacking: Lights, Darks, Bias, and Flats were stacked using the Weighted Batch Pre-processing script (WBPP) in PixInsight.
2. Artifact Removal: Initial stacking artifacts were cropped.
3. Deconvolution: Using BlurX to sharpen details and reduce mild optical aberrations.
4. Color Calibration & Background Neutralization: SPCC (Supercharged Pixelmath Color Calibration) and Background Neutralization were applied to ensure accurate colors and a clean background.
5. Star Removal: Starnet2 was employed to remove stars, allowing for focused processing of the nebula's structure.
6. Stretching: Graduated Harmonic Stretching (GHS) was used to bring out faint details without blowing out highlights.
7. Channel Splitting & Recomposition: The RGB channels were split. The blue channel was recomposed using Pixelmath from the red and green channels to create the SHO palette. Finally, these channels were recombined into a single SHO image.
8. Final Adjustments: Curve adjustments were made using the Curves Transformation tool to fine-tune contrast and color.

This new setup has certainly proven its worth, and I'm thrilled with the results. The SHO palette brings out the intricate details and vibrant gases within the North America Nebula in a unique and captivating way. I can't wait to see what else this gear can capture!