The object known as NGC 2371 is a planetary nebula — the glowing remains of a star similar to our Sun. Surrounding its core is a colorful cloud of gas, the outer layers that the star shed as it evolved. At the center lies the blazing-hot core of the former red giant, now stripped down to its bare essentials, with a scorching surface temperature of 240,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
To the eye, it can appear as if this nebula consists of two separate objects. Because of this, John Louis Emil Dreyer assigned it two entries in the New General Catalogue, so it may be referred to as NGC 2371, NGC 2372, or variations thereof. It has also been nicknamed the Double Bubble Nebula, but in my view, the name Cosmic Candy suits it best.
Raw data for this image was captured from my balcony in October 2021 and January 2022, under a Bortle 7 sky (area with red light pollution)
Gear I used:
- Sky-Watcher MAK180 catadioptric telescope with a Celestron f/0.63 focal reducer (giving an effective focal length of 1800 mm, f/10)
- Atik 414EX monochrome camera
- ZWO ASI183MC Pro color camera
- QHY mini guide scope and QHY5L-II guide camera
- Celestron CG5 equatorial mount upgraded with the Asterion kit (EQStar system)
Capture details:
- For luminance, I stacked 156 exposures of 1–2 minutes each using the Atik 414EX. I also added 74×120s frames with the O-III filter and 68×90s with H-alpha to bring out more details.
- For color, I used the ASI183MC Pro, stacking 420 exposures of 30–180 seconds (binning 3×3). The H-alpha data was blended into the red channel, while O-III was added to the green and blue channels to give the nebula its vivid, otherworldly colors.
Planetary nebulae like NGC2371 are a glimpse of what our Sun will become at the end of its life. But that won’t happen for billions of years, so no need to change your weekend plans 😄
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