Jellyfish Nebula & Monkey Head Nebula in one FOV

This wide-field astrophotograph captures two striking deep-sky objects within a single frame — the Monkey Head Nebula and the Jellyfish Nebula — highlighting both stellar birth and stellar death.

The Jellyfish Nebula is a supernova remnant formed by the explosive death of a massive star that occurred approximately 3,000 to 30,000 years ago. Its filamentary structure glows as the expanding shockwave interacts with surrounding interstellar gas.

In contrast, the Monkey Head Nebula is an H II region — a stellar nursery where new stars are actively forming as ionized hydrogen gas emits light under intense radiation from young, massive stars.

Although these nebulae appear close together in the night sky, they are separated by vast distances. The Jellyfish Nebula lies about 5,000 light-years from Earth, while the Monkey Head Nebula is located farther away at roughly 6,400 light-years.

Captured under heavy light pollution, this image demonstrates how modern astrophotography techniques and narrowband filters make it possible to reveal faint cosmic structures even from urban skies.

• Mount: Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer GTi
• Camera: ZWO ASI533MC Pro (cooled color CMOS)
• Lens: Samyang 135mm f/2
• Filter: Optolong L-Ultimate 2″ dual narrowband
• Guiding Camera: ZWO ASI120MM Mini
• Guide Scope: SVBONY SV165 (30mm f/4)
• Imaging Controller: ASIAIR Plus
• Tripod: Innorel heavy-duty tripod
• Location: Urban environment (Bortle 8 skies)

• Calibration, stacking, and initial processing performed in Siril
• Gradient removal, background neutralization, and nonlinear stretching applied
• Color balance and contrast refinement completed in GIMP
• Final enhancements focused on preserving faint nebular structures while maintaining natural star colors