Tulip Nebula Sh2-101 in SHO Narrowband Palette
Tuesday, September 15th, 2026 at 7:53:55 AM · 2026/Astrophotography
This stunning narrowband image of the Tulip Nebula (Sh2-101) was captured using the Hubble SHO palette (Sulfur-II mapped to red/gold, Hydrogen-alpha to green/teal, Oxygen-III to blue), revealing the dramatic emission structure of this star-forming region in Cygnus. The central bubble of glowing ionized gas is framed by pillars and dust lanes of golden sulfur emission, with a bright blue-white core of OIII emission giving the nebula its characteristic tulip-like silhouette. The richly textured background reveals extensive interstellar gas and dust lanes of the Milky Way, peppered with thousands of stars. Total integration of 4.22 hours was achieved across seven filter channels (SII, Hα, OIII, Luminance, Red, Green, Blue), and the final image was processed using Python and Syqon Starless AI for star removal and enhancement. The result is a technically accomplished and visually striking portrayal of one of the sky's lesser-celebrated but beautiful emission nebulae.
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