SH2-185 (IC 59 and IC 63 )

This mixed emission reflection nebula lies very close to Gamma Cas high in the northern sky. The brighter areas pick up well using the standard LRGB filters which is needed to capture the blue reflection nebula. By using a hydrogen-alpha filter and long exposures you can pick up extended nebula that makes up the rest of SH2-185. This object also goes by IC 63 which is the V shape object and IC 59 which has more reflection nebula thus shows up in the image where the blue is seen the most. IC 63 is one that larger telescopes can center on because it has some fine detail that would be resolved. If you want to preserve the reflection part when doing an HA-RGB, you need to create a composite in Photoshop and blend the reflection area back into the image.

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

Images by Dean Salman