SH2-308, the Dolphin Head Nebula, is a notoriously faint Wolf-Rayet bubble in Canis Major. The data comes from HCRO using a DeltaRho 500 system and is 22 hours of Hydrogen Alpha with 38 hours of Oxygen [III]. I processed it in Pixinsight then moved it to DxO for final color correction and contrast.
Pulling in that much signal at f/3 really showcased the sheer depth of the background dust and the delicate wisps of the main nebula, as well as reveals the intricate, fibrous structures of the OIII shell. I wanted to highlight the faint gasses and Ha background around the dolphin.
A major highlight of this deep integration is the faint, perfectly spherical structure sitting right at the 6 o’clock position on the edge of the Dolphin. It is so geometrically perfect that it’s easily mistaken for an uncorrected dust donut or an OIII reflection artifact, but it is actually **PN G234.9-09.7**—an incredibly faint planetary nebula. Thanks to the depth of the data, it naturally popped out of the background without needing any specialized masking. The object itself was only discovered in 2008 as part of the MASH II catalogue to discover faint PNs.
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SH2-308, the Dolphin Head Nebula, is a notoriously faint Wolf-Rayet bubble in Canis Major. The data comes from HCRO using a DeltaRho 500 system and is 22 hours of Hydrogen Alpha with 38 hours of Oxygen [III]. I processed it in Pixinsight then moved it to DxO for final color correction and contrast.
Pulling in that much signal at f/3 really showcased the sheer depth of the background dust and the delicate wisps of the main nebula, as well as reveals the intricate, fibrous structures of the OIII shell. I wanted to highlight the faint gasses and Ha background around the dolphin.
A major highlight of this deep integration is the faint, perfectly spherical structure sitting right at the 6 o’clock position on the edge of the Dolphin. It is so geometrically perfect that it’s easily mistaken for an uncorrected dust donut or an OIII reflection artifact, but it is actually **PN G234.9-09.7**—an incredibly faint planetary nebula. Thanks to the depth of the data, it naturally popped out of the background without needing any specialized masking. The object itself was only discovered in 2008 as part of the MASH II catalogue to discover faint PNs.
See full resolution here: [https://app.astrobin.com/i/ao4km6](https://app.astrobin.com/i/ao4km6)
Wtf is that real?
Amazing. I got 4 hours last night and I’m so happy with the results. You did a great job on this one.