The Sadr Region is an emission nebula in the active Cygnus constellation. Also known as IC 1318, the Sadr region is near many smaller nebulae such as the Butterfly Nebula and the Crescent Nebula (NGC 6888). This target rises nearly directly overhead of my Colorado backyard which allows me to image it in some of the darkest skies possible from a Bortle 5 area. The rich HII gas in this region makes it a prime target for using a narrowband filter to soak up the vibrant hydrogen alpha light. After photographing this object a couple months ago and being unsatisfied by the results, I decided to revisit it with my new Optolong L-eNhance filter.
The Sadr Region in Cygnus shown in Stellarium
What type of nebula is IC 1318?
IC 1318 is an HII emission nebula. This means that the nebula region has a lot of hydrogen gas that emits certain wavelengths of light, predominantly the red wavelength, hydrogen alpha. These types of nebulae are very good at forming stars, and these regions are common in our galaxy like the California Nebula and the Carina Nebula, and they are common in other galaxies like the Triangulum Galaxy and the Pinwheel Galaxy.
The Pinwheel Galaxy by Me
Acquisition Details
Because of my previous image of this region being subpar, I really wanted to knock it out of the park this time. Over the course of two nights, I collected four hours of data on this target, and another three hours and 55 minutes on calibration frames. For this target, I decided to take 5 minute exposures to reveal some of the fainter dust in the region, which pushed my imaging rig pretty hard without guiding.
My imaging rig taking dark frames
I took all of the data with my go-to imaging rig. This includes my Sony a6000, WO Redcat51, Skywatcher HEQ5 pro, and the Optolong L-eNhance filter. Due to the increased sub length, my polar alignment needed to be perfect to achieve star shapes that did not trail too much. Even with great alignment, any disturbance would move the stars slightly, so I just accepted it and moved on. Here are the full acquisition details:
Lights: 48 x 300s @ ISO 1000
Darks: 35
Flats: 20
Biases: 20
Total integration: 6 hours and 55 minutes
Processing
All of the data I collected was added into SiriL for stacking and post-processing. After using the OSC_Preprocessing script that stacks all of the data for me, I used the background extraction and photometric color calibration tools to correct the green hue the image had. After that was done, I sent the image into GIMP for more adjustments. I stretched the image to bring out some detail, and put that through starnet++ for a layer that contained just the nebula. I then brought out more detail in the nebula layer and enhanced the colors. After that, I made a star mask and put that on the nebula for my final image. Please enjoy.
The Sadr Region by me
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