A Mosaic Image of the Jellyfish and Monkeyhead

About 5,000 light-years away in the constellation Gemini is the Jellyfish Nebula (IC 443 or SH2-248), appearing in the night sky alongside the Monkeyhead Nebula (NGC 2174/2175), which is about 6,400 light-years away. The Jellyfish Nebula is thought to be the remains of a supernova that occurred 30,000 - 35,000 years ago.

February 15, 2024

I I know I said I’d avoid mosaics for a little while, but these two targets aren’t often imaged together, and it was only two panels, so I figured I’d give it a shot! Unfortunately there isn’t much nebulosity connecting the two, but there is clearly some additional nebulosity near the Jellyfish Nebula that I didn’t realize was there. I may revisit that target on it’s own to better capture the nebula and its surrounding area of nebulosity.

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

Guiding Telescope: William Optics UniGuide 32

Guiding Camera: ZWO ASI174MM

Imaging Dates: Feb. 28, 2024

Frames (gain 101.0) f/4.9 -10c: 73x180” (3h39m)

Integration Time: 3h39m

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

Bortle Dark-Sky Scale: 5.00

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C31 - Flaming Star Nebula

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Orion's Belt to Orion's Sword