Behind the photograph · 01

Heart & Soul

One field of stars. Two luminous clouds. Explore the journey from a FITS preview to my finished photograph.

Inside Heart & Soul · Explore the details →

Finished Heart and Soul Nebulae photograph — The FITS preview uses a display stretch to reveal faint detail. It is an earlier processing stage, not an untouched camera exposure. The finished image is the JPEG supplied by the photographer.

Display-stretched FITS preview of the same field — The FITS preview uses a display stretch to reveal faint detail. It is an earlier processing stage, not an untouched camera exposure. The finished image is the JPEG supplied by the photographer.

Open finished photograph Open FITS preview

The capture

Gathering the light.

Photographed by Islam Urazov with a William Optics UltraCat 56 and a ZWO ASI2600MC AIR. Askar Colour Magic D1 and D2 filters were used to collect the light for this image.

Compare the quieter colours of the FITS preview with the warm gold and cool tones of the finished edit. Both views show the same field of stars.

Telescope: William Optics UltraCat 56
Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC AIR
Filters: Askar Colour Magic D1 & D2
Individual exposure: 300 s
Total integration: To confirm