The Soul Nebula, cataloged as IC 1848, spreads across a rich star forming complex in Cassiopeia about 6,000 light years from Earth. This field highlights long ribbons of hydrogen emission, windswept cavities carved by young clusters, and faint dust channels that become visible only after long integration. Captured from a Bortle 8.5 backyard in Nashville, the data pushes deep enough to show the layered structure of the nebula and the delicate interplay between ionizing radiation and the surrounding gas.

Across 34 nights and 235 hours of exposure, this result is a remarkably clean and detailed look at a target that is notoriously difficult from heavy light pollution. The depth here makes the Soul feel almost sculpted, with subtle gradients and transitions that rarely show up outside of remote dark sky imagery.

Captured over three winters from a backyard in Nashville, Tennessee (Bortle 8–9), this stunning deep-sky image reveals Simeis 147, also known as the Spaghetti Nebula—a vast and ancient supernova remnant approximately 3,000 light-years away in the constellation Taurus. The tangle of glowing filaments stretches across a six-degree-wide field, representing the expanding shock wave and energized interstellar material from a stellar explosion estimated to have occurred around 40,000 years ago.

What makes this composition uniquely special is the inclusion of Mars, which serendipitously entered the frame during the 2023 capture sessions. Visible near the bottom left as a golden beacon, the Red Planet offers a striking contrast to the nebula’s ethereal blues and reds. This extraordinary image required 569 hours of total integration time, spread across 147 nights—an exceptional feat made even more impressive by the challenging light pollution of the urban setting.

This area of Cepheus doesn't get a lot of attention. There's no Elephant Trunk nebula, no Bat or Squid nebula, no Wizard nebula, no Iris Nebula. So naturally, I wanted to take some time and get a really deep integration on it, to try for a unique view.

Maybe the most interesting thing in this photo is the small blue blob of Oiii (with a sharp Ha/Sii arc) that's about 20% over from the left side of the image, and about a third of the way up from the bottom. At some point during data acquisition, the Oiii just started showing up. I thought it was dust in my imaging train, but after re-taking my flats, the Oiii was still there. Jaša Rebula was able to figure out that the area had been cataloged as supernova remnant Te 12….

The Edge of the Elephant Trunk

Taken over the course of 33 nights, this is 174 hours of exposure on an area of sky that's rarely imaged alone, but often included in wide field views of Cygnus.

This region is directly north of the Elephant Trunk Nebula, and the faint outer edge of the Elephant Trunk can be seen on the right side of this image.

This is my first image since upgrading to a mono camera, and I couldn't be happier with the switch from OSC to mono.

Image Description and Details : M45 (Pleiades) in HOORGB, 98 hours taken over the course of 19 nights.I've wanted to take this picture for a couple of years, but whenever I could get to my dark sky site, it was cloudy. The stars finally aligned (literally) and I was able to get a good amount of RGB data from my dark sky site this winter.During my research for taking this photo, I noticed that some images had small amount of faint Hydrogen Alpha immediately around M45, so I figured I'd pile on some HA data for my wide field image and see if any more hydrogen would present itself...I was pleasantly surprised to find some wispy streams of hydrogen that I'd never seen before, right outside of the star cluster.The RGB data was taken from my dark sky site in Bone Cave, TN. The narrowband data was taken from my backyard in Nashville, TN.Imaging details:Imaging Telescope: TPO UltraWide 180 f/4.5 Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC Pro Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro Filters:Baader Fringe Killer 2"Optolong L-eXtreme 2" Accessories: ZWO ASIAIR Plus, ZWO EAFSoftware: Adobe Photoshop, Aries Productions Astro Pixel Processor (APP), Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsightGuiding Telescope: ZWO 30mm Mini Guider ScopeGuiding Camera: ZWO ASI290MM Mini Dates:Nov. 18, 2022, Nov. 19, 2022, Nov. 20, 2022, Nov. 21, 2022, Nov. 22, 2022, Nov. 23, 2022, Nov. 28, 2022, Nov. 30, 2022, Dec. 12, 2022, Dec. 15, 2022, Dec. 16, 2022, Dec. 17, 2022, Dec. 18, 2022, Dec. 19, 2022, Dec. 20, 2022, Dec. 23, 2022, Dec. 24, 2022, Dec. 25, 2022, Dec. 27, 2022, Jan. 1, 2023Frames:Baader Fringe Killer 2": 538×240″ (35h 52′) (gain: 100.00) -10°COptolong L-eXtreme 2": 467×480″ (62h 16′) (gain: 100.00) -10°CTotal Integration: 98h 8′Darks: 60Flats: 60Flat darks: 100
Copyright: Copyright: Jeffrey Horne

Image Description and Details :

The California Nebula. 110 hours of integration, imaged for 29 nights over the course of 2 months.It seems rare that I see images of the California Nebula with more than 40-50 hours, so I wanted to pile on a lot of data and see what details I could bring out.Imaging details:Imaging Telescope: OPT Telescopes TPO UltraWide 180 f/4.5Imaging Camera: ZWO Astronomy Cameras ASI2600MC ProMount: Sky-Watcher USA EQ6-R ProFilters:Baader Planetarium Fringe Killer 2"Optolong Astronomy Filter L-eXtreme 2"Accessories: ZWO ASIAIR Plus, ZWO EAFBaader Fringe Killer 2": 350×5″ (29′ 10″)Optolong L-eXtreme 2": 818×480″ (109h, 4min)

Copyright: Jeffrey Horne

Image Description and Details : The Heart of the Swan. I hope you enjoy this image as much as I enjoyed making it! 73.5 hours of exposure over the course of 19 nights. Imaging Telescope: TPO UltraWide Imaging Cameras: ZWO ASI2600MC Pro Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro Filters: Astronomik L-3 Luminance UV/IR Block, Optolong L-eXtreme 2" Accessories: ZWO ASIair + Guiding Telescope: ZWO 30mm Mini Guider Scope Guiding Camera: ZWO ASI290MM Mini Astronomik L-3 Luminance UV/IR Block: 200x5" (16' 40") (gain: 100.00) -10°C Optolong L-eXtreme 2": 550x480" (73h 20') (gain: 100.00) -10°C Integration: 73h 36' 40" Darks: 60 Flats: 100 Flat darks: 100 Bortle Dark-Sky Scale: 8.00

Copyright: Jeffrey Horne

Image Description and Details : The Horn of Monoceros: 102 hours of exposure over 29 nights.

There is so much nebulosity in this region that I just couldn’t stop piling on data to see what would be revealed.

I hope you enjoy this image as much as I enjoyed creating it!

Details:

Imaging Telescope: TPO Ultrawide 180

Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC Pro

Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ6R-PRO

Filters:
Astronomik L3 UV-IR Blocking Filter 2"
Optolong L-eXtreme 2"

Accessories:
ZWO AsiAir Pro

Guiding Telescope: ZWO Mini Guide Scope
Guiding Camera: ZWO ASI290MM Mini

Frames:
Astronomik L3 UV-IR Blocking Filter - 2": 350x5" (29' 10") (gain: 100.00) -10C
Optolong L-eXtreme 2": 759x480" (101h 12') (gain: 100.00) -10C
Integration: 101h 41' 10"
Darks: 50
Flats: 50
Flat darks: 50

Copyright: Jeffrey Horne

Image Description and Details : Imaging telescope: TPO Ultrawide 180
Imaging camera: ZWO ASI2600MC Pro
Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ6R-PRO
Guiding telescope: ZWO Mini Guide Scope
Guiding camera: ZWO ASI290MM Mini

Software: Pleiades Astrophoto PixInisight, Aries Productions Astro Pixel Processor, ZWO ASIAir Pro, Photoshop CC
Filters: Optolong L-eXtreme 2", Optolong L-Pro 2''

Dates: Sept. 28, 2021, Sept. 29, 2021, Oct. 5, 2021, Oct. 8, 2021, Oct. 9, 2021, Oct. 10, 2021, Oct. 11, 2021

Frames:
Optolong L-Pro 2'': 60x60" (1h) (gain: 100.00) -10C bin 1x1
Optolong L-eXtreme 2": 96x1200" (32h) (gain: 100.00) -10C bin 1x1
Integration: 33h
Darks: 40
Flats: 40
Flat darks: 40

Bortle Dark-Sky Scale: 8.00

Copyright: Jeffrey Horne

Image Description and Details : Imaging lens: Canon 50mm USM 1.4 @ f/4
Imaging camera: ZWO ASI2600MC Pro
Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ6R-PRO
Guiding telescope: ZWO Mini Guide Scope
Guiding camera: ZWO ASI290MM Mini

Software: Aries Productions Astro Pixel Precessor, Pleiades Astrophoto PixInisight, ZWO ASIAir Pro, Photoshop CC

Filters: Optolong L-eXtreme 2", Optolong L-Pro 2'', Optolong L-eNhance 2"
Accessory: ZWO ASIAir Pro

Dates: June 20, 2020, June 21, 2020, Aug. 2, 2021, Aug. 3, 2021, Aug. 4, 2021, Aug. 5, 2021, Aug. 8, 2021, Aug. 10, 2021, Aug. 11, 2021

Frames:
Optolong L-Pro 2'': 80x90" (2h) (gain: 100.00) -5C bin 1x1
Optolong L-eNhance 2": 17x1200" (5h 40') (gain: 100.00) -5C bin 1x1
Optolong L-eNhance 2": 36x600" (6h) (gain: 100.00) -5C bin 1x1
Optolong L-eXtreme 2": 80x1200" (26h 40') (gain: 100.00) -5C bin 1x1

Integration: 40h 20'
Darks: ~40
Flats: ~40
Flat darks: ~40

Bortle Dark-Sky Scale: 8.00

Locations: Backyard, Nashville, TN, United States

Copyright: Jeffrey Horne

Image Description and Details :

This was shot over the course of 18 nights, spanning 4 months (winter skies in Nashville aren't the greatest). The Canon lens was @ f/4.

The real challenge with this photo came from the Spaghetti Nebula (aka SH2-240, Simeis 147). It's incredibly dim and barely shows up in a single 20 minute sub, which is in stark contrast to brightness of the Flaming Star Nebula (IC 405, SH 2-229, or Caldwell 31) and Tadpoles Nebula (IC 410, NGC 1893). I had to process this as HDR so that they appeared to have the same brightness.

Imaging lens: Canon EF 85 mm f/1.8 USM
Imaging cameras: ZWO ASI2600MC Pro
Mounts: Sky-Watcher EQ6R-PRO
Guiding telescopes or lenses: ZWO Mini Guide Scope
Guiding cameras: ZWO ASI290MM Mini
Software: Pleiades Astrophoto PixInisight · Photoshop CC
Filters: Optlong L-eXtreme 2" · Optolong L-eNhance 2"
Accessory: ZWO AsiAir Pro

Dates:
Dec. 10, 2020, Dec. 11, 2020, Dec. 13, 2020, Dec. 18, 2020, Dec. 21, 2020, Dec. 22, 2020, Jan. 6, 2021, Jan. 13, 2021, Jan. 14, 2021, Feb. 4, 2021, Feb. 8, 2021, March 4, 2021, March 5, 2021, March 7, 2021, March 8, 2021, March 9, 2021, March 10, 2021, March 11, 2021

Frames:
Optolong L-Pro 2'': 40x15" (gain: 100.00) -10C bin 1x1
Optolong L-Pro 2'': 40x30" (gain: 100.00) -10C bin 1x1
Optolong L-Pro 2'': 40x60" (gain: 100.00) -10C bin 1x1
Optolong L-eNhance 2": 143x1200" (gain: 100.00) -10C bin 1x1
Optolong L-eXtreme 2": 56x1200" (gain: 100.00) -10C bin 1x1

Integration: 67.5 hours

Darks: ~40

Bortle Dark-Sky Scale: 8.00



Copyright: Jeffrey Horne