Located in the constellation Cassiopeia, the Soul Nebula, also known as IC 1848, is an emission nebula situated approximately 6,500 light-years away from Earth. Its intricate and captivating features are composed of hydrogen gas and dust, sculpted by the intense radiation and stellar winds emanating from the cluster of young, massive stars at its core. The celestial canvas showcases delicate tendrils of glowing gas and dark dust lanes, creating a celestial spectacle that beckons astronomers and stargazers alike. Its sometimes easy to become glassy eyed with some of the numbers that are referenced in astronomy. As context here in the UK 6500 years ago when this light started its journey to me there was no UK / England, in fact the country was in the middle of the stone age. The best tools we had at our disposal were made from stone, antler and bone.
The tools I used to capture the image where only really conceived of in a fraction of 1% before this light arrived.
The following is a stacked and processed image of 126, 5 minute exposures taken on the night of 5th Dec 2023. On this evening I was using my newly acquired Optolong L-Extreme Dual Band filter through my 60mm Refractor using my cooled colour astro camera. The filter is what is known as a Dual Band filter in that it only allows light from two wavelengths, those being the light that is emitted by Hydrogen and doubly ionised Oxygen.
