Other Names: IC 1805, Sh 2-190
Optics: Meade 10" ACF SCT at f/9.4
Mount: Paramount MX using The SkyX Pro
Camera: QSI 683WSG-8
Filters: Astrodon Ha 3nm, OIII 3nm, SII 3nm
Exposure: 4890 Mins or 81.5 hours, [49 Ha, 19.5 OIII, 13 SII], 1800s exposures, Binned 2x2
Accessories: Auto guided with Starlight Xpress Adaptive Optics, Starlight Xpress Lodestar & PHD2.
FLI Atlas focuser using FocusMax 4.1.0.72
Location: Burlington, ON, Canada
Date: Taken over several nights from July 9th, to September 23rd, 2018

Notes: This is the most data I have ever collected for one image. Over 80 hours of data was acquired using TSX Pro and MaxPilote automation software.
Processing: Image calibration, & align in Maxim DL Pro. Levels, curves, cosmetic adjustments and crop/resize in Photoshop. Color mapped to the SHO palette in PS & adjusted using selective color option. Calibrated w/32 Darks, 100 Bias, 50 Flats of each filter using natural sky flats. CCD temperature was -20C & -25C depending on the night. Image was taken from my backyard Observatory.

Link to Ha Version: https://astromarina.zenfolio.com/p264248004/hb87af262#hb87af262


Melotte 15 lies in the heart of the Heart Nebula and lies some 7500 light years away from Earth in the Perseus Arm of the Galaxy in the constellation Cassiopeia. It was discovered by William Herschel on 3 November 1787.