Consignment - Matted Prints 8.5x11 - Ryan Mayberry

All photos were captured with a William Optics Redcat 51 quad refracting telescope and a ZWO AM3 harmonic drive mount. The camera used was an ASI294MM monochrome camera with ZWO 7nm Hydrogen alpha, Sulfur II, and Oxygen III filters. To capture accurate and high resolution images, the telescope also uses a ZWO 30mm mini guide scope and a ASI 120mm guide camera. To control all the equipment and store the captured data, I have an ASIAIR Mini which connects to the mount, camera, guide camera and USB thumb drive. Printed on Polar Gloss Metallic 255 Photo Paper.

The North America Nebula(NGC 7000) is a hydrogen rich area of space and takes up 3 full moons worth of sky. The nebula is located in the constellation Cygnus about 1300 light years away and was nicknamed due to its strange resemblance to the North American continent. This nebula is what is known as an emission nebula. A nearby star’s light is interacting with the various gases and each element is emitting its own photon of light causing the beautiful colors seen above. In this image, the reds of the nebula resemble hydrogen, the oranges sulfur, and the blues oxygen. The Magenta comes from overlap of the elements. Just to the right of North America is another region nicknamed the Pelican Nebula(IC 5070). The two nebulae are separated by a cloud of interstellar dust which absorbs and blocks out any light from the background stars. The Pelican Nebula houses very interesting structures known as Bok Globules which look like tiny tentacles poking out of the mountain-like structure. These globules are carved out from stellar wind and are the birthplaces of new baby stars.

The Soul Nebula (Sh2-199) is a region of dust and gas located in the constellation Cassiopeia. The nebula is around 150 light years across and 6500 light years away. The stars located within are only about a million years old (babies in terms of star lifetimes) and due to their hot wind is carving a hole in the center of the nebula. Some denser parts of the nebula experience this erosion much slower and in turn create these pointed structures around the edges of the nebula.

The Sadr Region(IC 1318) is a small portion of a much larger region known as the Cygnus Molecular Gas Complex which spans thousands of light years across. The Sadr Region achieves its name from the bright star located in the center of the photo. Sadr is the heart of Cygnus the swan and is an F class star with approximately 14x the mass of the Sun. Sadr is located about 1800 light years away from us and although it appears to be a part of the nebula, it is actually 3200 light years closer to us than the actual nebula. The actual star that causes the nebula to emit light is a hot O class star that is obscured by dust.

The Auriga Molecular cloud complex, located roughly 1,300–1,500 light-years away, features a rich collection of emission and reflection nebulae including the Flaming Star Nebula (IC 405), the Tadpoles Nebula (IC 410), and the Spider & Fly Nebulae (IC 417 and NGC 1931). Powered by young, massive stars and active clusters such as NGC 1893, this region glows with hydrogen-alpha emission while dark dust lanes sculpt dramatic shapes like the well-known “tadpoles.” Together, these objects form one of the most vibrant wide-field targets in the winter sky, showcasing ongoing star formation across the Auriga constellation.

The Pleiades (M45) is an open star cluster located about 440 light-years away in the constellation Taurus, making it one of the closest and most prominent clusters in the night sky. Its hot, young blue stars illuminate surrounding interstellar dust, creating the cluster’s distinctive blue reflection nebula. Long studied in both astronomy and mythology, the Pleiades remains a favorite imaging target for capturing delicate dust structures and vibrant starlight.

The Orion Nebula (M42) is a bright star-forming region located about 1,350 light-years away in the constellation Orion. Illuminated by the young, massive stars of the Trapezium Cluster, the nebula reveals a turbulent mix of glowing gas, dark dust, and newborn stars. As one of the closest stellar nurseries to Earth, M42 offers an exceptional look into the processes that shape young solar systems.