24 Oct 2026
SHO Hubble Palette displaying utter chaos of the Cygnus X HII complex.
Processed using PixInsight with FBPP, SPFC/MGC, SPCC, BXT, NXT, SXT, MAS, NarrowbandNormalization, ImageBlend, GHS, PSCM, and Affinity Photo 2.
I haven't decided what to do about the bright lower left corner. I'm reluctant to pass it off as a gradient issue because the MCG gradient model shows no sign of it at all. On the other hand, the nearest bright stars in that vicinity are the mag 9 double pair Couteau 2938. I'm inclined to believe that we are seeing the halo caused by that pair.
IC 1318 - The Butterfly Nebula
20 credit