The North America Nebula (NGC 7000)

 Posted: Feb 7th, 2026
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NGC
IC
HD
Technical Info
Telescope/Lens: Sharpstar 76 edph f4.5
Camera: Zwo 1600mm
Mount: HEQ5 Pro
Guide Scope: 30/120
Guide Camera: Zwo 178mm
Software: Pixinsight
Exposure:
17 x 60" ISO/Gain: 139 - R
55 x 60" ISO/Gain: 139 - G
42 x 60" ISO/Gain: 139 - B
120 x 180" ISO/Gain: 139 - H
Black, Bortle 1 zone:
 Mozyr, Belarus
 Feb 7th, 2026
7 h 54 m
54
Resolution: 4544x3401 px
Scale: 9384 KB
I guess I missed it, the last color object with a monochrome camera. The hydrogen data is, of course, collected in abundance. But its color overwhelms all the other colors. For now, let it stay like this.

Upd: I remembered that there's no L channel in this stack, so I removed it.
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Comments

Try reducing the number of frames for the red channel, or stretch the blue and green channels separately, then gradually stretch the red channel a bit.
Today, at 02:32 Reply
Robert Nik Replied to Poppy8micro
Well, you can see how much of each channel was captured there) Honestly, I don't think it can be beaten, and I don't feel like drawing...
Today, at 06:26 Reply
Poppy8micro Replied to Robert Nik
I think the issue here isn't about honesty, and yes, we all essentially "paint" the data—how could we not? The point is that we need to blend the three channels not in exact proportions per frame, but according to the signal level of the gas. If one gas emits faintly on its own, then its signal should be given more weight.
Today, at 20:38 Reply
Poppy8micro Replied to Robert Nik
As in two-shot cameras. When you combine everything, the difference in signal between different interpolation channels turns it into mush, and then we extract color from that mush. Here it's the same, only the interpolation is done manually when combining the channels.
Today, at 20:41 Reply
Try also performing alignment to a reference frame before pixel math, matching all other frames to the brightest red one—I can’t recall what this is called in PixInsight. In Siril, it’s called linear matching.
Today, at 20:49 Reply
Robert Nik Replied to Poppy8micro
Exactly, I could have applied linearfit...
Today, at 21:35 Reply

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