21 hours of the Iris Nebula

Hello! Here is my rendition of the Iris Nebula!

21 hours of exposure. 4 nights under the sky with the telescope. Thousands of frames.
The result? The deepest image I've ever managed to capture: the Iris Nebula (NGC 7023), one of the most beautiful reflection nebulae in the Milky Way.

Located about 1300 light-years away in the constellation Cepheus, this nebula is embedded in a vast molecular cloud rich in interstellar dust. At the center lies HD 200775, a young, hot star that illuminates the surrounding dust grains.

The bluish light? It’s not emission. it’s reflection. Just like Earth’s blue sky, the color is the result of Rayleigh scattering, where dust particles reflect blue light more efficiently from the central star.
The dark structures around the nebula, almost like cosmic clouds, are dense regions of dust that absorb light. These areas are what make capturing the image so challenging… but also incredibly rewarding.

Capture Data:
exif: 16 frames (10") → 2m40s, 648 frames (20") → 14h42m40s, 742 frames (30") → 6h11m,
1 frame (60") → 1m. Best 98% = 20h57min, Drizzle x2.
sky: Bortle 5.
location: Amor, Leiria - Portugal.
date: 20.07.2025 -- 25.07.2025.
telescope: Seestar S50 / IRCut / EQ mode.
tripod: Adjustable Wedge and Tripod Kit from Astro Essentials.
processing: DeepSkyStacker, Siril, Photoshop, HLVG, Starfixer, RCastro plugins, Topaz AI Sharpen, Lightroom.
Thanks for checking it out!