North America and Pelican Nebulae in SHO Narrowband Palette
Thursday, May 21st, 2026 at 4:35:21 PM · 2026/Astrophotography
This is a deep narrowband image of the North America Nebula (NGC 7000) and the Pelican Nebula (IC 5070) in Cygnus, processed using the Hubble SHO palette (SII→Red, Hα→Green, OIII→Blue). The result is a richly colored tapestry of teal, gold, and blue hues that highlight the complex interplay of ionized hydrogen, oxygen, and sulfur gas clouds across the 92.6×92.6 arcminute field of view. Dark dust lanes carve dramatic silhouettes through the glowing nebular material, while bright emission ridges trace the boundaries between stellar winds and molecular cloud complexes. The image represents 13.3 hours of total integration using a TMB-92 APO refractor and ZWO ASI533MM Pro monochrome camera, processed with Python and Syqon Starless AI for star removal. The characteristic 'coastline' shape of the North America Nebula's Gulf of Mexico region is prominently visible along with the Pelican's head structure on the right side of the frame.
Chronologically Adjacent
