Colours of Carina

The Mighty Eta Carina nebula, in narrowband.
Hitting the classics again as I’m still sorting automation & the Stellarmate, and making good progress!

This is now my second image from my new Stellarmate/Rpi4/KStars/Ekos Macbook pro combo and again, I took it while sitting on the couch as the ‘Scope Plate solved, Locked on, Auto focussed, Calibrated, Guided, Changed filters, Meridian flipped and did it all over again over two consecutive nights!

I’ve sorted the porting and am now using the internal multi-star guider – it’s great!

So nice to sleep through the night while the ‘scope does it’s thing!

2 Hrs each 5nm Ha & S2, 3 Hrs 3nm O3 Choma filters from my light polluted suburban location in Melbourne, Australia. Average seeing, Bortle 5/6 skies.

Processed in APP & PS CC 2020 using Starnet++ &  Topaz NR with a touch of Eric Coles Histogram balancing technique.

About this Nebula

What’s happening in the centre of the Carina Nebula? Stars are forming, dying, and leaving an impressive tapestry of dark dusty filaments. The entire Carina Nebula, catalogued as NGC 3372, spans over 300 light years and lies about 8,500 light-years away in the constellation of Carina. The nebula is composed predominantly of hydrogen gas, which emits the pervasive red glow seen in this highly detailed featured image. The blue glow in the centre is created by a trace amount of glowing oxygen. Young and massive stars located in the nebula’s centre expel dust when they explode in supernovae. Eta Carinae, the most energetic star in the nebula’s centre, was one of the brightest stars in the sky in the 1830s, but then faded dramatically. (text: APOD)