The Rosette Nebula

We had a break in the clouds after getting about 9 inches of snow this weekend, so I was able to collect some data on a new target. The Rosette Nebula is a popular target for astrophotographers, due to the sheer size and beauty of its structure! Last night I was able to get about 2 hours to compose my first image of the Rosette Nebula (just in time for Valentine’s Day!) Processing on this was a little bit challenging, as i had quite a bit of gradient in the bottom left corner to deal with. Not sure why it appeared… it may be related to taking twice the amount of flats and dark flats that I typically do (60 instead of 30), which may be over-correcting any gradient form the filter/sensor for the final image. I also experimented with Siril’s Generalized Hyperbolic Stretch tool for the first time. I think it turned out pretty nicely! Just need to keep experimenting and learning!