“HOO” in SHO – The Owl Nebula, M97 in Narrowband
Planewave CDK12.5; AP 1100GTO AE
ASI6200MM, - Antlia Pro 3.5nm Narrowband filters
SHO: (40,40,40 x 420s, Bin 1, Gain 200)
Total integration time = 14.0 hrs (Apr 16,17,18,19,21 2024)

An HSO palette was chosen to display the channel colours for this narrowband version of the Owl Planetary Nebula or M97, although a blended palette was used for a realistic star colour.

M97 lies about 2000 lys away, and its light first arrived to us 8,000 years ago from Ursa Major when its sun like star started to become a white dwarf, centred on the nebulous orb consisting of material originating from the star.

Initially, M97 looks as if it is circular but the frames look like the nebulous orb as been shifted and double exposed with two dark areas offsetting the central star. I was determined, via narrowband filters, to see if I could resolve any internal structure despite its fuzzy appearance. Also I was looking for traces of the O3 signal dominated halo that exists. Both the structure and halo are less evident in my other M97 images. Usually, M97 is shot in HOO, but I wanted to include the sulfur filter to see if I could include a bit more colour.