DWB111 - The Propeller Nebula

The Propeller Nebula, also known by it’s catalogue name DWB 111, is a small part of a massive diffuse Hydrogen Alpha emission region in Cygnus. The distance to the Propeller Nebula is not currently known, however, the distance to the broader Cygnus X complex is about 4,600 light-years away.

September 26, 2024

Completely reprocessed in PixInsight.

Technical Details

Imaging Telescope: William Optics RedCat 51 II

Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI533MC Pro

Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro

Filter: Antlia Tri-band RGB Ultra Filter - 2” Mounted

Accessories: ZWO ASIAIR Plus, ZWO EAF, ZWO Filter Drawer (Gen 2)

Software: Siril, Starnet, Photoshop, NoiseXterminator, APF-R

Guiding Telescope: William Optics UniGuide 32

Guiding Camera: ZWO ASI174MM

Imaging Dates: September 2/5, 2024

Frames (gain 101.0) f/4.9 -10c: 240x180” (12h)

Integration Time: 12h

Darks/Flats/Dark Flats: 30/25/30

Bortle Dark-Sky Scale: 5.00

September 6, 2024

This is a new target for me, as it is a challenging one (and therefore a less common one, even for many astrophotographers). The Propeller Nebula is a fairly diffuse target in the constellation Cygnus, and while it is true for most targets that longer integration time is necessary to resolve more detail, this is especially true with this target. I found processing this one fairly difficult as there is lots of faint gas and dust that made background extraction difficult, but nonetheless, we still have a pretty good result.