SH2-124 (Sharpless 124 )

This object appears to be like SH2-125 (the Cocoon Nebula) which is in the same area. However, it does not have the reflection you see around the Cocoon, so only the H-Alpha filter has the best results with this one. I tried the OIII to see if a narrowband was possible, and there just simply is no OIII in this object. The H-Alpha filter also picks up a lot of nebula around it with a wider field of view. A larger telescope may show finer structure around the brighter areas. I have not tried a clear filter, but the blue and green channels are almost non-existent in this object, so the HA filter with the RGB seems to be the best way to colorize the nebula. This image was published in Astronomy Magazine April 2008.

For a complete list of the Sharpless Catalog visit my main site at http://www.sharplesscatalog.com

Images by Dean Salman