NGC 7023

NGC 7023 Iris Nebula Distance from Earth: about 1,300 light-years. Discovered: October 18, 1794 Diameter: approximately 6 light-years. Color: dominated by blue, which arises from the reflection of light from nearby stars off dust. Structure: the nebula consists of dusty material surrounding a massive, hot, young star in the formation stage. Features: the nebula's shape resembles a flower, and the star cluster above the center looks like a "cylinder". 33 frames at 180 seconds Calibration: 20 flats, 10 darks, 20 biases Equipment: SW 150/750 tube, HEQ5 Pro mount, Canon 6D Mark II camera, guide camera Datiyson T7C Date: May 23, 2025, Mergyanovo, Bortle 4 Stacking in Siril, background with GraXpert, edited in PixInsight, final touches in Photoshop Honestly, this is the maximum I could extract with my current skill level. I tried processing without star separation, using photometry and playing with curves, but the dust hardly showed. The second attempt was with star separation and masks… in my opinion, the second version is more interesting. I’ll keep collecting more signal…