Subject

Wizard Nebula

4 results

Cepheus Region

Wizard Nebula

Date 2026-07-26Emission NebulaConstellation CepheusParsed 6.75hFilter mixedS50_85b661b11539 x 1539

Cepheus Region

Wizard Nebula

Date 2026-05-16Emission NebulaConstellation CepheusParsed 9h approximateFilter mixed644 x 1144

Companion notes

Wizard Nebula, captured in the SHO Hubble palette.

The Wizard Nebula sits within the same local spiral structure of the Milky Way that our own Solar System occupies — an area called the Orion Spur, one of the smaller arms threading between the galaxy’s larger spirals. At different times of year, Earth’s orbit gives us completely different views through the plane of the galaxy. Over the coming months, our night sky shifts toward the direction of the galactic core. This image combines roughly 6 hours of hydrogen-alpha with 3 hours of sulfur data, revealing dense gas and dust being sculpted by radiation from newly formed stars inside one of those active stellar nurseries. Captured from my backyard in New Jersey with the Seestars S50 and S30 Pro, and dual narrowband filters.

Cepheus Region

Wizard Nebula

Date 2026-08-15Emission NebulaConstellation CepheusParsed 13h approximate34.6h integrationFilter mixedS50_85b661b11539 x 1539

Cepheus Region

Wizard Nebula

Date 2026-06-12Emission NebulaConstellation CepheusParsed 1.62h1.6h integrationFilter mixedS30 Pro_82d6b3101921 x 1081

Subject

Elephant's Trunk Nebula

3 results

Cepheus Region

Elephant's Trunk Nebula

Date 2026-06-02Dark NebulaConstellation CepheusParsed 9h approximate28.9h integrationFilter mixedS30 Pro_82d6b3104428 x 3038

Cepheus Region

Elephant's Trunk Nebula

Date 2026-05-30Dark NebulaConstellation CepheusParsed 4h4686 x 3051

Cepheus Region

Elephant's Trunk Nebula

Date 2026-07-18Dark NebulaConstellation CepheusParsed 11hFilter mixedS30 Pro_82d6b3106661 x 4499

Subject

Lobster Claw

M52 3 results

Cepheus Region

Lobster Claw

Date 2026-06-05Emission Nebula / Open ClusterConstellation CassiopeiaParsed 14h approximate5.3h integrationFilter mixedS30 Pro_82d6b3104241 x 2590

Cepheus Region

Lobster Claw

Date 2026-06-02Emission Nebula / Open ClusterConstellation CassiopeiaParsed 7h approximate24.2h integrationFilter mixedS30 Pro_82d6b3102268 x 2948

Cepheus Region

Lobster Claw

Date 2026-06-03Emission Nebula / Open ClusterConstellation CassiopeiaParsed 6h approximate20.5h integrationFilter mixedS50_85b661b15215 x 3134

Subject

bubble nebula

M52 1 result

Cepheus Region

bubble nebula

Date 2026-06-02Emission Nebula / Open ClusterConstellation CassiopeiaParsed 4.23h4.2h integrationFilter mixedS50_85b661b13019 x 1698

Subject

Bubble Nebula

M52 1 result

Cepheus Region

Bubble Nebula

Date 2026-06-28Open Cluster / Emission NebulaConstellation CassiopeiaFilter mixedS50_85b661b12419 x 1978

Companion notes

Bubble Nebula in multiple palettes

These aren’t three artistic interpretations of the same image. They’re three different ways of visualizing the chemistry of the nebula.

palette	red	green	blue
HOS	hydrogen α	Oxygen	Sulfur
OSS	Oxygen	Sulfur	Sulfur
SHO	Sulfur	Hydrogen α	Oxygen

Notice what doesn’t change: No matter how the channels are mapped, this region is overwhelmingly dominated by hydrogen and oxygen. Sulfur is present, but only in relatively small amounts. In the HOS image it’s barely visible as hints of blue, and in the OSS image it contributes very little to the red oxygen signal. Even the classic SHO “Hubble palette,” which often produces rich golds and teals, is overwhelmingly blue here because there simply isn’t much sulfur to display.

To me, that’s the fascinating part. The colors aren’t telling us what the nebula looks like—they’re helping us understand what it’s made of.

The Bubble Nebula is another stellar nursery, but unlike the Heart, Soul, or North America Nebulae, the most obvious feature isn’t the cloud itself—it’s how a single massive star has begun reshaping that cloud.

The central star is a very hot, relatively young O-type star. While our Sun is 4.6 billion years old, this star is only about 2–4 million years old. The bubble itself is even younger; only a few hundred thousand years old. During that time, the star’s stellar winds having been carving the bubble out of it’s surrounding cloud.

Over the next few million years, the star will exhaust its fuel, leave the main sequence, and likely end its life as a supernova. When that happens, the Bubble Nebula will be reshaped once again. The resulting shock waves will create conditions that produce much stronger SII emission, making this region look dramatically different than it does today.

Subject

fireworks galaxy

1 result

Cepheus Region

fireworks galaxy

Date 2026-07-30Galaxy / Open ClusterConstellation Cygnus / CepheusParsed 1hFilter mixedS50_85b661b13616 x 2142

Subject

Fireworks Galaxy

1 result

Cepheus Region

Fireworks Galaxy

Date 2026-08-21Galaxy / Open ClusterConstellation Cygnus / CepheusParsed 2.5hFilter mixedS50_85b661b12433 x 1369

Subject

Lion Nebula

1 result

Cepheus Region

Lion Nebula

Date 2026-07-02Emission NebulaConstellation CepheusParsed 6h4.6h integrationFilter mixedS50_85b661b14083 x 4083

Subject

Lobster Claw Nebula, Bubble Nebula, Salt and Pepper cluster

M52 1 result

Cepheus Region

Lobster Claw Nebula, Bubble Nebula, Salt and Pepper cluster

Date 2026-08-16Emission Nebula / Open ClusterConstellation CassiopeiaParsed 26h approximateFilter mixedS50_85b661b17204 x 4289