IC 5070 - HOO

A deep dive into the Pelican Nebula, an active star-forming region in the constellation Cygnus, captured from Mallorca. This image is the result of three nights of data acquisition, combined into a mosaic that reveals the intricate details of cosmic gas and dust.

• Location: Mallorca, Spain

This project relied on precise tracking and significant integration time using a dual-band narrowband filter to cut through the noise:

• Mount / Mode: Mosaic in EQ (Equatorial) Mode

• Filter: Dual Band (H-Alpha / OIII)

• Total Integration Time: ~16.2 hours split across 3 sessions:

  • Day 1: 217 x 90s (GAIN 60)

  • Day 2: 217 x 90s (GAIN 60)

  • Day 3: 215 x 90s (GAIN 60)

The processing focused on maximizing the contrast of the gaseous structures using an HOO palette and strict noise control:

1. Pre-processing & Stitching: Stellar Studio and Siril for registration, stacking, and mosaic stitching.

2. Gradient Removal & Star Separation: Gradient extraction via GraXpert followed by star removal using StarNet.

3. Background Detail (Starless):

   • Enhanced using Seti Astro Suite Pro.

   • Advanced sharpening and noise reduction on the starless background with Cosmic Clarity Sharpen + Denoise.

4. Color & Stretching (Siril):

   • Channel mixing utilizing the Veralux Alchemy (HOO) palette.

   • Non-linear stretching via Generalized Hyperbolic Stretch (GHS).

5. Final Touches: Star recombination with StarNet Star Recomposer and final contrast adjustments using Veralux Curves.