The vast Veil Nebula complex in the context of the Cygnus Milky Way.
Please click on image for larger presentation.
The composition: I continue to experiment with the 135mm f2 lens and the Canon 350D modified.
My goal in this composition was to present the Veil nebula complex within the context of the Milky Way galaxy.
Often times the nebula is imaged in narrow band light which minimizes the star field within which the nebula lies.
As you can see, the nebula is in a transitional zone of the Milky Way where a high density stars and hydrogen-alpha gases are present
in the upper right corner and transition to a less dense area of the Milky Way in the bottom left corner.
This varying stellar and gas density has created image enhancement problems for me in the past when trying to create an evenly illuminated field.
It is obvious that the field has several gradations in both color and luminosity.
These gradations are important to note when optimizing images that are on a smaller image scale.
Observational Notes: As I look more at this image, it appears to my eye that there is a triangular shell of stars and gas from the left remnant
NGC 6992 and expanding to the right and the remainder of the supernova remnant with the wider side of the triangle on the right.
Perhaps this is an identified feature, but I am not aware of it and I cannot avoid seeing it now upon further viewings.
Processing notes: The image is a delicate balance of controlling star sizes while at the same time maintaining the intensity of the star field in order to show the density of the Milky Way in this area.
All enhancements were global in nature.
Notes on image acquisition: The image was acquired during a spectacular stretch of dark sky time while at the Mountain Institute near the summit of Spruce Knob in West Virginia.
The image was taken during the Almost Heaven Star Party hosted by NOVAC.
Spruce Knob is just under 5,000 feet in elevation and the Mountain Institute is just below the summit few hundred feet.
Scientific information: For more information on the Veil nebula complex please see the Hubble webpage.