Sharpless 2-216 in the constellation Auriga, is a beautiful but extremely faint planetary nebula found very close to the bright star Capella. Estimated to be about 500,000 years old, it has spread out and diffused over a very large area to become the second largest known planetary nebula. Only Hewett-1 discovered in the early 2000’s is known to be larger. The estimated distance from Earth is about 390 light years making Sh2-216 the closest known to Earth as well.
Sharpless 221 (Sh2-221) is to the left in this image and is a huge supernova remnant. It has about four times the Moon’s diameter on the sky, and lies about 2,600 light years away. The structures visible in this image are dominated by emissions from hydrogen (red) and oxygen (teal). The oxygen seems to form an envelope around the object.

Telescope: Askar FRA300pro f5
Mount: Astro Physics Mach-1
Camera: ZWO ASI6200MC pro
Guider: ZWO Off-Axis-Guider / ZWO120MM Mini
Filters: None. Integrated ZWO UV/IR Cut Filter Cover

146×5 mins = 730 mins

Total Imaging Time: 12h 10m

Data Imaged remotely on 2 nights during December 2024.
Data acquisition & Processing by David Churchill.

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