The Wizard Nebula in Narrowband Colors

Image Title: The Wizard Nebula (NGC 7380) in Ha + SII/OIII Narrowband

Copyright: Francois Doffin

Date image was taken: August 01, 2025

Location: Aveyron (France)

Data Acquisition Method: Personal Telescope Setup

Description and Details: Captured from my remote observatory in France, this deep integration of the Wizard Nebula (NGC 7380) combines 374 × 180s in Ha/OIII and 145 × 180s in SII/OIII narrowband exposures.

Located about 7,200 light-years away in the constellation Cepheus, NGC 7380 is an open star cluster surrounded by glowing gas and dust shaped by stellar winds, creating the iconic “Wizard” shape.

This image was processed with PixInsight for calibration and stacking, and finalized in Adobe Photoshop for color balance and fine adjustments. The long total exposure time allowed me to reveal incredible structural details in the nebula, despite its faint outer regions.

Equipment:

Telescope: TS-ONTC HYPERGRAPH 10″ (254 mm, F/4) with 0.85× reducer (863 mm, F/3.4)

Mount: SkyWatcher EQ8R-Pro on custom steel pier

Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC DUO (–15°C)

Filters: Optolong L-Extreme (Ha/OIII), C2 Askar (SII/OIII)

Guiding: Camera DUO

Focuser: ZWO EAF electronic

Rotator: ZWO CAA

Total integration time: 26.1 hours

Name: Francois Doffin

Website or Facebook Profile: http://doffinastrophoto.com