Like the Pillars of Creation, Sharpless 86 is an ionized hydrogen field illuminated at its core by the radiation of an open cluster, NGC 6820. Published by Stewart Sharpless in 1959, the Sh2 catalog lists 312 emission nebulae, planetary nebulae, and supernova remnants visible in the northern hemisphere. Despite overlapping with deep-sky objects in the Messier and NGC catalogs that are visible to the unaided eye, Sh2 is primarily composed of obscure, dim nebulae which can only be revealed through astrophotography. In this monochrome, starless photograph, I am only depicting the energized hydrogen regions to highlight the bright gas and fine dark dust structures and bright gas. In PixInsight, I removed the stars from the nonlinear master light frame using StarXTerminator, and then boosted the contrast using Apple Photos editing tools. Although astrophotography has its origins in scientific research, this composition reveals that space is not merely a thing to photograph; it is a palette to create art upon.
Acquisition Date: July 8, 2021–July 25, 2021
Acquisition Site: Backyard
Image Details: 102 x 300s (8h 30m)
Equipment: QHY600M-PH, Takahashi FSQ-106EDXIII, AP900GTO, Chroma 3nm Ha filter