Sh2-132 is a faint emission nebula in Cepheus, often called the Lion Nebula because of the way its brighter ridges and darker gaps suggest a profile across the field.
This is the kind of target where narrowband data does the heavy lifting. Hydrogen, oxygen, and sulfur bring out the curling structure and help separate the nebula from the dense star background around it.
- What am I looking at?
- The Lion Nebula is a faint emission cloud whose brighter ridges suggest a lion's profile.
- How far away is it?
- About 10,000 light-years away.
- Where is it in the sky?
- In Cepheus, a faint but rewarding target in the northern Milky Way.
- Why does it matter?
- A less common narrowband object that rewards long integration time and careful processing.
- When is the best time to photograph it?
- Late summer through autumn when Cepheus is well placed.
Capture summary
Nebula in Cepheus
5 days in Jun 2022 / Moon 65%
Ha, OIII, SII
Summer target / square composition
- H-alpha 3h 40m 44 x 300s / 17-19 Jun 2022 / Moon 77%
- SII 2h 24 x 300s / 18 Jun, 20 Jun 2022 / Moon 67%
- OIII 3h 35m 43 x 300s / 4 days in Jun 2022 / Moon 55%
- Totals 9h 15m 5 days in Jun 2022 / Moon 65%
When to image this target
Nebula in Cepheus; best planned for June through August from New Jersey.
Summer targets often improve later at night as the Milky Way climbs higher.
Assumes a New Jersey backyard horizon and evening imaging.
Emission nebulae are good candidates for narrowband filters; reflection nebulae prefer darker skies.
Sh2-132 is listed here in Cepheus.
Current frame: Narrowband / Ha, OIII, SII.
Live altitude, moon, and filter guidance
Calculating target altitude and moon context.
Use the full planner to enter a ZIP code, choose a date, and compare the target from your sky.
Based on the current time.
Green marks usable dark-sky altitude.
Next upper transit.
Approximate horizon crossing.
Moon phase and altitude.
Acquisition & processing notes
Filter channels, integration times, and capture dates for this frame. View on AstroBin.
- H-alpha 44 x 300s, 3h 40m, 17-19 Jun 2022, Moon 77%
- SII 24 x 300s, 2h, 18 Jun, 20 Jun 2022, Moon 67%
- OIII 43 x 300s, 3h 35m, 4 days in Jun 2022, Moon 55%
- Totals 9h 15m, 5 days in Jun 2022, Moon 65%
How I captured this
| Channel | Frames | Time | Moon |
|---|---|---|---|
| H-alpha | 44 x 300s | 3h 40m | 77% |
| SII | 24 x 300s | 2h | 67% |
| OIII | 43 x 300s | 3h 35m | 55% |
| Totals | — | 9h 15m | 65% |
- Equipment used
- From my current rig
- Mount
- iOptron CEM60
- Telescope
- Explore Scientific FCD100 127mm Carbon Fiber Triplet APO
- Camera
- ZWO ASI2600MM Pro
- Filters
- Chroma 36mm Ha, OIII, SII, and LRGB (ZWO EFW 7×36mm)
- Focuser / rotator
- MoonLite NiteCrawler
- Reducer
- Starizona Apex ED 0.65×
- Guiding
- ZWO off-axis guider + ASI290MM Mini
- Control / power
- PrimaLuceLab Eagle 4S, Powerwerx PSU, Bioenno field battery, and MEGAbox
