How to photograph the Soul Nebula (IC 1848)
The Heart Nebula’s neighbor, a hydrogen cloud full of young stars.
Photo byNASA/JPL-Caltech/Harvard-Smithsonian(Public domain)
When to shoot it from your location
About the Soul Nebula
The Soul sits just east of the Heart and looks a lot like it. It is a good narrowband target for light-polluted skies and moonlit nights.
Gear and framing
The Soul Nebula spans about 2.5° of sky. It frames best with:
- Telephoto (85-300mm lens)
- Small refractor (250-600mm)
You can see how other people have built their rigs on RigDesigner, including my Sony a6700 and 60mm refractor rig.
Filters
This target glows in hydrogen-alpha and oxygen-III light. A dual-band filter, or separate narrowband filters with a mono camera, lets that light through and blocks most light pollution and moonlight. It is a good choice for city skies and for nights with the Moon up.
Tips
- At 400-600mm, frame the Soul alone. At 135-200mm, include the Heart.
Processing
Stack your light frames with darks and flats, then remove the background gradient before stretching. AstroBake does all of this for you. Point it at your folders of raw frames, then adjust the result with live sliders.