How to photograph the Tulip Nebula (Sh2-101)
A tulip-shaped hydrogen cloud in the summer Milky Way near Cygnus X-1.
Photo byChuck Ayoub(CC BY-SA 4.0)
When to shoot it from your location
About the Tulip Nebula
The Tulip is a small, bright emission nebula in a crowded star field in Cygnus. The black hole system Cygnus X-1 is just to one side, though there is nothing special to see there in a photo.
Gear and framing
The Tulip Nebula spans about 16′ of sky. It frames best with:
- Small refractor (250-600mm)
- Long focal length (800mm and up)
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 600-800mm it fills the frame nicely.
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.