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This stunning
            Stromgren Sphere in the Bull has the most lovely color gradient
            across its face, ranging from a crimson red on the right to a
            rich pink on the left near the exciting star. Such color variations
            are not completely unexpected because of the increased ionizing
            radiation near the star will bring up the H-beta component in
            the hydrogen spectrum, which is a royal blue color. This nebula
            is right next to the famous S147 super nova remnant, and is always
            overlooked. 

            
Nebular details:

            
Known also as
            LBN 826, this 7 arcminute Sharpless object is truly in a sea
            of faint Milkyway stars. Being in the "Zone of Avoidance",
            no galaxies appear in the background in this shot. In addition
            to Sh142, there are two other nebulosities in this field. The
            lovely blue/red object to the lower left has a stunning color
            contrast, while a bit of red wisp is on the left edge. Neither
            could be identified even with the venerable "Guide 7"
            Deep space atlas.

            
Processing Notes:
            

            
This image is
            a straight RGB image, with the R channel mixed 75% with H-alpha
            data. Extreme care was taken as to not red clip on the nebula,
            this retains the smooth details and keeps the color rich and
            crisp. 

Instrument:  12.5" f/5 Home made Newtonian
Platform:  Astrophysics 1200 QMD
CCD Camera:  SBIG 10XME NABG with Enhanced Water Cooling
Guider: SBIG ST4
Exposure:  (Ha+R)GB = 120+20:20:20 
RGB Combine Ratio:  1: 1.05: 1.11
Filters:  AstroDon RGB Tricolor
Location:  Payson, Arizona
Elevation:  5150 ft.
Sky:  Seeing FWHM = 4.1 arcsec (Maxim DL - 10min subframe), Transparency 7/10
Outside Temperature:  35 F
CCD Temperature:  -30 C
Processing Tools:  Maxim DL, Gralaks Sigma, Photoshop, PixInsight, CCDOps Debloomer.
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