THE BAT NEBULA
NGC 6995 • Supernova remnant • Cygnus • 2400 light-years from Earth
🔭
Askar 130PHQ
📷
ZWO 2600MC Pro
🌃
Bortle 8
⏱️
16.5 hours
🗓️
September 2025
Overview
The Bat Nebula, catalogued as NGC 6995, is a faint section of the Cygnus Loop supernova remnant in the constellation Cygnus, around 2400 light-years from Earth. Its thin, filamentary structure marks the expanding shock front from a massive star that exploded thousands of years ago. Although its low surface brightness makes it a difficult target under heavy light pollution, the Bat Nebula can still be recorded from urban skies by isolating its emission with dual-narrowband filters and a long integration time.
Background
Right after finishing Pickering’s Triangle, I decided image the nearby Bat Nebula (more formally known as NGC 6995). They’re similar objects, both being parts of the same supernova remnant known as the Cygnus Loop. The main difference is that Pickering’s Triangle is a bridge of filaments connecting the Loop, while the Bat Nebula is one of the outer arcs of the supernova’s ever-expanding shell.
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Science
The field of view from my Askar 130PQH telescope and ZWO ASI 2600MC Pro camera actually let me capture more of the Bat Nebula than is in the main image, but I cropped in for a better composition. This is the whole view:
The bulk of data was captured using an Optolong L-Ultimate filter. During processing I edited the Hα as red, and the OIII as purple. I purposefully chose a different palette to Pickering’s Triangle to make the two images look distinct. And I rarely see purple in astroimages! The stars are broadband, taken with an Optolong L-Quad Enhance.
What about the origins of the Bat Nebula? Sometime between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago, a high-mass star exploded as a supernova. The material the star was made from, along with new elements synthesised within the detonation, blasted out into space as an expanding shell. The Bat Nebula is the outer arc of this supernova remnant.
Below is the full image and a selection of close-crops. Use the slider function to see inverted views. I think they make it easier to see some finer details in the knots and filaments.
Kit list
This is the equipment I used to capture the image.
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Telescope: Askar 130PHQ
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Camera: ZWO ASI 2600MC Pro
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Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro
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Guidescope: William Optics 50mm with ROTO Lock
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Guidecam: ZWO ASI 120MM Mini
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Control: ASIAIR Plus
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Filter: Optolong L-Quad Enhance
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Filter: Optolong L-Ultimate
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Processing walkthrough
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Example source data
Here are example single subframes and freshly integrated stacks, just with simple stretches applied.
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