37 Hours on the Helix Nebula (NGC 7293)

To really push my PixInsight skills, I decided to tackle a professional dataset from Astrophotomarket—and the Helix Nebula did not disappoint. It is a brilliant, challenging, and incredibly rewarding DSO to process!

Captured under Bortle 4 skies, this narrowband project required serious integration time.

The Details:

Antlia 3nm H-alpha (300s x 215)

Antlia 3nm OIII (300s x 103)

Antlia 3nm SII (300s x 126)

The Gear:

Telescope: TS-130 APO Refractor

Camera: ZWO ASI294MM Pro

Mount: ZWO AM5

I processed the data from scratch using PixInsight. There is always more to learn in this complex hobby, but the journey and the community make it all worth it 🫶

What do you think of the final result?

Clear skies! ✨🔭