Astrophotography by Keith B. Quattrocchi

NGC 6826
Planetary Nebula in Cygnus
RGB/SHO Image
August 7, 2026

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Copyright 2026
Keith B Quattrocchi

Image Acquisition Information  
                    
Telescope: 16" RCOS Richey Chretien Telescope (ion milled at f/9) 
Camera: ZWO Full Frame Back Illuminated CMOS ASI 6200 MM
Guiding: Starlight Xpress AO with UltraStar Autoguiding Camera (AO control using maxim DL software).
Filters: Astrodon RBG, H-alpha, S-II and OIII Filters
Acquisition Programs: NINA, The SkyX, PHD2, PWI4
Processing Programs: PixInsight, RC Astro, Photoshop CS4
Date: Data processed on July 12, 2021.  Data acquisition:  June of 2021                           
Time:  Ha/SII/OIII (10 min x 50 for each filter) + RGB (3 min exposures x 100 for each filter) for a total of 40 hours.                
              
Image Information: ​NGC 6826, also cataloged as Caldwell 15, is a striking planetary nebula located roughly 2,000 to 2,200 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cygnus. With an apparent magnitude of 8.8 and an age of roughly 1,000 years, this roughly 1,000-year-old celestial object is famous among astronomers for an optical illusion that earned it the moniker "The Blinking Planetary."
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Processing Information: These RGB + Ha/SII/OIII images were obtained using AstroDon filters.  The RGB/NB images were batch processed (calibrated, registered, normalized and integrated) in PixInsignt.   Further stretching, high pass filtering and background smoothing was performed with Adobe Photoshop CS/4 and PixInsight. Within PixInsight the 4 main layers (extracted stars, SHO image, RBG image and separately processed central nebulosity) were assembled.