A meeting of light and shadow unfolds in this wide-field image from the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, revealing some of Cepheus’s most enigmatic structures. At the center of the glowing red Flying Bat Nebula (Sh2-129) lies the elusive Squid Nebula (Ou4), a faint bipolar outflow visible primarily in OIII that appears to swim through a sea of hydrogen gas. The Squid’s rare bluish arcs contrast spectacularly against the deep red ionization front of the surrounding nebula.

To the right, Barnard 150 — the Seahorse Nebula — winds its way through the dusty starfield as a silhouetted column of interstellar dust, marking an active cradle of young stars still hidden within. Completing the tableau is LBN 446, a reflection nebula that drapes the scene in soft starlight. Captured in a single frame thanks to a full-frame sensor and dark skies, this scene highlights the power of international collaboration and remote observatories to reveal cosmic vistas otherwise out of reach.

Image Details:

Location: Oria, Almeria, Spain

Telescope: Takahashi FSQ-106EDX4

Camera: FLI PL16803

Mount: Paramount MX+

Ha: 10x10 minutes (binned 1x1)

OIII: 80x10 minutes (binned 1x1)

RGB: 8x10 minutes each (binned 1x1)

Copyright 2022 Bernard Miller

Image Description and Details :

I present you my last acquisition since the setup HAO_4. these are two nebulae including one (Ou4) discovered by my friend the French astrophotographer Nicolas Outters in June 2011. This is the Giant Squid (in blue/green in the image) which is a bipolar planetary nebula located about 2000 light-years from Earth surrounded by the Flying Bat Nebula (cataloged Sh2-129 in red), both are located in the direction of the cepheus constellation.
Technical details:
- Apo Takahashi FSQ 85 to F/D 5.3
- iOptron 60 cem ec mount
- Asi 2600 mm pro
- Astronomik filters 6nm
- 205x300s HA : 17 h 05 min
- 188x600s O3 : 31 h 20 min
-181x300s S2 : 15 h 05 min
- 3 x 30 x 60s RGB : 1 h 30 min
- Full integration: 49 h 55 min
- DOF: 33/101/25
- Date: October/november 2021
- Location: HAO Observatory, Oukaimeden, Morocco.

Copyright: K. Aziz