Joshua Copen Astrophotography

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Joshua Copen Astrophotography Joshua has been fascinated by the stars and the science since finding an astronomy book in 3rd grade.

As an astrophotographer, he captures the universe’s beauty with precision, showcasing galaxies, nebulas, and other wonders.

🌌 Orion’s Great Nebula — 14 Hours Among the StarsFive imaging dates. Hundreds of exposures.And one of the most beautiful...
10/29/2026

🌌 Orion’s Great Nebula — 14 Hours Among the Stars

Five imaging dates. Hundreds of exposures.
And one of the most beautiful star-forming regions in our sky. ✨

This is the Orion Nebula (M42), joined by the Running Man Nebula (NGC 1977).

The Orion Nebula is about 1,267 light-years away.
It is one of the closest regions where massive stars are forming. Wikipedia

Deep inside M42, young stars light up the surrounding gas.
Their intense radiation reveals clouds where new stars and planetary systems can develop.

Above it, the Running Man Nebula shines by reflecting starlight from young stars.
Its blue glow contrasts with the bright pink gas and dark dust lanes.

I captured this region using my Astro-Tech AT-72 EDII refractor and ZWO ASI294MC camera.

I combined broadband and narrowband data to bring out the colors, dust, and fine structure.

Which part draws you in first—the bright heart of M42 or the blue Running Man above it?



==== Imaging Data ====

Targets:
Orion Nebula — M42
Running Man Nebula — NGC 1977
NGC 1977, NGC 1976, and surrounding nebulosity

Dates: October 5, 6, 7, 8, and 23, 2026

Scope / OTA:
Astro-Tech AT-72 EDII Refractor
Focal Ratio: f/4.8
Focal Length: 344 mm
Astro-Tech 0.8× Reducer / Field Flattener

Mount:
Vixen Great Polaris GEM Mount
SkyWatcher SynScan EQ5 Pro Go-To Kit Equipped

Camera:
ZWO ASI294MC with DIY Cooling Mod
Baader CMOS-Optimized UV/IR Cut Filter — 1.25"
Optolong L-eXtreme Dual Bandpass Light Pollution Reduction Imaging Filter — 1.25"

Guidescope: SVBony SV165
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI120MM-Mini

Broadband Data:
Exposure Time: 180 seconds
Gain: 150
Light Frames: 207
Dark Frames: 100
Flat Frames: 0
Dark-Flat Frames: 0
Integration: 10 hours 21 minutes

Narrowband Data:
Exposure Time: 180 seconds
Gain: 250
Light Frames: 81
Dark Frames: 50
Flat Frames: 0
Dark-Flat Frames: 0
Integration: 4 hours 3 minutes

Camera Sensor Temperature: 3.70°C
Capture Area: 4144 × 2822
Colour Space: RGB24
Output Format: FITS files (*.fits)

Total Light Frames: 288
Calculated Integration Time: 14 hours 24 minutes
Supplied Metadata Integration Time: 14 hours 4 minutes

Note: The frame counts and exposure times calculate to 14h 24m, which differs from the supplied integration total.

Software — Processing:
Adobe Photoshop
StarNet++
Siril
GraXpert
ASTAP
AstroWizard
Seti Astro Suite Pro

Software — Acquisition:
SharpCap
Cartes du Ciel
Stellarium
PHD2
ASCOM
EQMOD
NINA

🐴 Six Nights of Data — The Horsehead and Flame NebulaeNearly 14 hours of exposure reveal a dramatic corner of Orion. ✨Th...
10/23/2026

🐴 Six Nights of Data — The Horsehead and Flame Nebulae

Nearly 14 hours of exposure reveal a dramatic corner of Orion. ✨

This is the Horsehead Nebula, Flame Nebula, and surrounding star-forming region.

I captured this field across six nights in October.

The famous Horsehead is actually a dark cloud of dust and gas.
It stands out because it blocks the red glow behind it.

That glowing backdrop is IC 434, where hydrogen gas shines under intense radiation.
The Horsehead lies about 1,375 light-years away. Wikipedia

To the lower left, the bright Flame Nebula is NGC 2024.
It lies about 1,350 light-years away and contains a young star cluster. Wikipedia

I photographed this region with my Astro-Tech AT-72 EDII, using both broadband and narrowband data.

Together, those frames reveal the glowing gas, dark dust, and crowded stars across this famous region.

Which feature grabs your attention first—the Horsehead silhouette or the fiery glow of the Flame Nebula?



==== Imaging Data ====

Targets:
Horsehead Nebula — Barnard 33
Flame Nebula — NGC 2024
IC 434
NGC 2023
Lump Star

Dates: October 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, and 19, 2026

Scope / OTA:
Astro-Tech AT-72 EDII Refractor
Focal Ratio: f/4.8
Focal Length: 344 mm
Astro-Tech 0.8× Reducer / Field Flattener

Mount:
Vixen Great Polaris GEM Mount
SkyWatcher SynScan EQ5 Pro Go-To Kit Equipped

Camera:
ZWO ASI294MC with DIY Cooling Mod
Baader CMOS-Optimized UV/IR Cut Filter — 1.25"
Optolong L-eXtreme Dual Bandpass Light Pollution Reduction Imaging Filter — 1.25"

Guidescope: SVBony SV165
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI120MM-Mini

Broadband Data:
Exposure Time: 180 seconds
Gain: 150
Light Frames: 213
Dark Frames: 100
Flat Frames: 0
Dark-Flat Frames: 0
Integration: 10 hours 39 minutes

Narrowband Data:
Exposure Time: 180 seconds
Gain: 250
Light Frames: 70
Dark Frames: 50
Flat Frames: 0
Dark-Flat Frames: 0
Integration: 3 hours 30 minutes

Camera Sensor Temperature: 4.50°C
Capture Area: 4144 × 2822
Colour Space: RGB24
Output Format: FITS files (*.fits)

Total Light Frames: 283
Calculated Integration Time: 14 hours 9 minutes
Supplied Metadata Integration Time: 13 hours 59 minutes
Note: The frame counts and exposure times calculate to 14h 9m.

Software — Processing:
Adobe Photoshop
StarNet++
Siril
GraXpert
ASTAP
DeepSkyStacker
AstroWizard

Software — Acquisition:
SharpCap
Cartes du Ciel
Stellarium
PHD2
ASCOM
EQMOD
NINA

🧙‍♀️ The Witch Head Nebula — 7¼ Hours of Cosmic Ghostly BlueSome nebulae glow on their own.Others shine by borrowing lig...
10/19/2026

🧙‍♀️ The Witch Head Nebula — 7¼ Hours of Cosmic Ghostly Blue

Some nebulae glow on their own.
Others shine by borrowing light from a nearby star.

This is the Witch Head Nebula — IC 2118, also cataloged as NGC 1909.

I captured this faint reflection nebula across two nights, October 15–16.

Located about 900 light-years away, the Witch Head is illuminated by Rigel, the bright blue supergiant near Orion. Its dust scatters blue light more effectively than red, much like the process that makes our daytime sky blue. Wikipedia

For this image, I used my Astro-Tech AT-72 EDII refractor with a 0.8× reducer and field flattener.

My cooled ZWO ASI294MC collected 145 exposures at three minutes each.

That adds up to 7 hours and 15 minutes of broadband data.

The result reveals a faint, ghostly shape hiding among the stars. ✨

Can you see the witch’s profile in the clouds? What detail catches your eye first?



==== Imaging Data ====

Target: Witch Head Nebula — IC 2118 — NGC 1909
Dates: October 15–16, 2026

Scope / OTA:
Astro-Tech AT-72 EDII Refractor
Focal Ratio: f/4.8
Focal Length: 344 mm
Astro-Tech 0.8× Reducer / Field Flattener

Mount:
Vixen Great Polaris GEM Mount
SkyWatcher SynScan EQ5 Pro Go-To Kit

Camera:
ZWO ASI294MC with DIY Cooling Mod
Baader CMOS-Optimized UV/IR Cut Filter — 1.25"

Guidescope: SVBony SV165
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI120MM-Mini

Broadband Data:
Exposure Time: 180 seconds
Gain: 150
Light Frames: 145
Dark Frames: 100
Flat Frames: 0
Dark-Flat Frames: 0

Camera Sensor Temperature: 9.00°C
Capture Area: 4144 × 2822
Colour Space: RGB24
Output Format: FITS files (*.fits)

Total Light Frames: 145
Total Integration Time: 7 hours 15 minutes

Software — Processing:
Adobe Photoshop
StarNet++
Siril
GraXpert
ASTAP
DeepSkyStacker
AstroWizard

Software — Acquisition:
SharpCap
Cartes du Ciel
Stellarium
PHD2
ASCOM
EQMOD
NINA

✨ Over nine hours of light—and the Soul came alive.This is the Soul Nebula — IC 1848, Westerhout 5, or W5 in Cassiopeia....
10/05/2026

✨ Over nine hours of light—and the Soul came alive.

This is the Soul Nebula — IC 1848, Westerhout 5, or W5 in Cassiopeia.

I captured it from Southern Oregon across two nights.

W5 is a huge emission nebula in the Perseus Arm of the Milky Way.
It lies about 7,500 light-years from Earth.

The nebula contains the open cluster IC 1848 within its larger structure.

W5 also contains large cavities carved by radiation and stellar winds.
Those processes can compress surrounding gas and help trigger new generations of stars.

For this image, I used my Astro-Tech AT-72 EDII with its 0.8× reducer/field flattener.

The ZWO ASI294MC was cooled with my DIY cooling modification.

An Optolong L-eXtreme filter isolated the narrowband emission.

I collected 191 three-minute exposures, totaling 9 hours 33 minutes.

The final image was processed in the HSO palette to bring out the different structures across W5.

🔭 What catches your eye first—the bright central region or the sweeping outer clouds?



==== Imaging Data ====

Target: Soul Nebula — IC 1848 — Westerhout 5 — Embryo Nebula
Color Palette: HSO
Dates: 9/30/2026 – 10/1/2026
Location: Southern Oregon

Scope / OTA:
Astro-Tech AT-72 EDII Refractor
f/4.8
344 mm Focal Length
Astro-Tech 0.8× Reducer / Field Flattener

Mount:
Vixen Great Polaris GEM Mount
SkyWatcher SynScan EQ5 Pro Go-To Kit Equipped

Camera:
ZWO ASI294MC with DIY Cooling Mod
Optolong L-eXtreme Dual Bandpass Light Pollution Reduction Imaging Filter — 1.25"

Guidescope:
SVBony SV165

Guide Camera:
ZWO ASI120MM-Mini

Narrowband Data:
Exposure Time: 180 Seconds
Gain/ISO: 250
Light Frames: 191
Dark Frames: 50
Flat Frames: 0
Dark-Flat Frames: 0

Camera Sensor Temperature: 11.9°C
Capture Area: 4144 × 2822
Colour Space: RGB24
Output Format: FITS files (*.fits)

Total Frames: 191
Integration Time: 9h 33m

Software — Processing:
Adobe Photoshop
StarNet++
Siril
GraXpert
ASTAP
DeepSkyStacker
AstroWizard

Software — Acquisition:
SharpCap
Cartes du Ciel
Stellarium
PHD2
ASCOM
EQMOD
NINA

❤️ The Heart Nebula — IC 1805Two nights.7½ hours of narrowband data.And a new HOO view of the Heart Nebula.This is IC 18...
10/05/2026

❤️ The Heart Nebula — IC 1805

Two nights.
7½ hours of narrowband data.
And a new HOO view of the Heart Nebula.

This is IC 1805 in the constellation Cassiopeia.
I processed this version using the HOO palette.

Hydrogen is mapped to red.
Oxygen is mapped to blue.

That brings out the glowing gas and dark dust structure.

🌌 What's Happening Here?

The Heart Nebula is an emission nebula about 7,500 light-years away.
It lies along the Perseus Arm of our Milky Way.

At its center is the open cluster Melotte 15.
Some of its massive stars are nearly 50 times the Sun's mass.

Their intense radiation makes the surrounding gas glow.
The nebula also contains ionized oxygen and sulfur.

The Heart stretches nearly 2 degrees across our sky.
That's roughly four times the diameter of the full Moon.



==== Imaging Data ====

Target: Heart Nebula — IC 1805
Color Palette: HOO
Dates: 10/2/2026 – 10/3/2026

Scope / OTA:
Astro-Tech AT-72 EDII Refractor
f/4.8
344 mm focal length
Astro-Tech 0.8× Reducer / Field Flattener

Mount:
Vixen Great Polaris GEM
SkyWatcher SynScan EQ5 Pro Go-To Kit

Camera:
ZWO ASI294MC with DIY Cooling Mod
Optolong L-eXtreme Dual Bandpass Light Pollution Reduction Filter — 1.25"

Guidescope:
SVBony SV165

Guide Camera:
ZWO ASI120MM-Mini

Narrowband Data:
Exposure: 180 seconds
Gain: 250
Light Frames: 150
Dark Frames: 50
Flat Frames: 0
Dark-Flat Frames: 0

Camera Sensor Temperature: 13.7°C
Capture Area: 4144 × 2822
Colour Space: RGB24
Output: FITS

Total Frames: 150
Integration Time: 7h 30m

Processing:
Adobe Photoshop
StarNet++
Siril
GraXpert
ASTAP
DeepSkyStacker
AstroWizard

Acquisition:
SharpCap
Cartes du Ciel
Stellarium
PHD2
ASCOM
EQMOD
NINA

🐟 The Fish Head Nebula — IC 1795Four nights.15 hours of narrowband data.And a completely different way of seeing this ne...
10/01/2026

🐟 The Fish Head Nebula — IC 1795

Four nights.
15 hours of narrowband data.
And a completely different way of seeing this nebula.

This is my latest capture of the Fish Head Nebula — IC 1795.

I processed this one using the HOO palette.

That maps hydrogen to red and oxygen to blue.

The result brings out the glowing gas while keeping the structure highly visible.

🌌 What's Actually Happening Here?

IC 1795 is an emission nebula and star-forming region in Cassiopeia.

It sits along the Perseus Arm of the Milky Way, about 6,000 light-years away.

The brighter neighboring region is NGC 896.

Together, they form part of the larger star-forming complex near the Heart Nebula.

Young, massive stars produce intense ultraviolet radiation.

That radiation excites the surrounding gas, causing the nebula to glow.

The structure you see isn't just a colorful cloud.

It is an enormous region where stars are forming.

And the light captured here started its journey thousands of years ago.



==== Imaging Data ====

Target: Fish Head Nebula — IC 1795
Color Palette: HOO
Dates: 9/27/2026, 9/28/2026, 9/29/2026, 9/30/2026

Scope / OTA:
Celestron C6 SCT Schmidt Cassegrain
945 mm focal length
f/6.3
Celestron 0.63× Corrector-Reducer
Insulation Wrapped

Mount:
Vixen Great Polaris GEM Mount
SkyWatcher SynScan EQ5 Pro Go-To Kit Equipped

Camera:
ZWO ASI294MC with DIY Cooling Mod
Optolong L-eXtreme Dual Bandpass Light Pollution Reduction Imaging Filter 1.25"

Guiding:
SVBony SV165 Guidescope
ZWO ASI120MM-Mini Guide Camera

Narrowband Data:
180-second exposures
Gain 340
300 Light Frames
50 Dark Frames
99 Flat Frames
99 Dark-Flat Frames

Camera Sensor Temperature: 9.80°C
Capture Area: 4144 × 2822
Colour Space: RGB24
Output: FITS

Total Light Frames: 300
Integration Time: 15h 00m

Processing:
Adobe Photoshop
StarNet++
Siril
GraXpert
ASTAP
DeepSkyStacker
AstroWizard

Acquisition:
SharpCap
Cartes du Ciel
Stellarium
PHD2
ASCOM
EQMOD
NINA

❤️ The Heart Nebula — IC 180513½ hours of narrowband data.Three nights of imaging.And this time, I went all-in with the ...
09/25/2026

❤️ The Heart Nebula — IC 1805

13½ hours of narrowband data.
Three nights of imaging.
And this time, I went all-in with the SHO palette.

This is my latest capture of the Heart Nebula, IC 1805.

The C6 SCT gives this target a much tighter view.

That extra focal length lets me explore the structure inside the nebula.

🌌 Why Does SHO Look So Different?

SHO separates the nebula's emission into Sulfur, Hydrogen, and Oxygen.

Those channels can then be assigned different colors during processing.

The result is a completely different view from a natural-color image.

Here, the golden tones reveal sulfur-rich regions.

The blue tones highlight oxygen emission.

Hydrogen provides another layer of structure throughout the nebula.

The Heart Nebula is about 7,500 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia.

It is part of the Perseus Arm of our Milky Way.

At its center is the young star cluster Melotte 15.

Some of its massive stars are nearly 50 times the mass of our Sun.

Even more impressive is the scale.

The Heart Nebula spans roughly two degrees across the sky.

That's about four times the apparent diameter of the full Moon.



==== Imaging Data ====

Target: The Heart Nebula — IC 1805
Color Palette: SHO
Dates: 9/20/2026, 9/22/2026, 9/23/2026

Scope / OTA:
Celestron C6 SCT Schmidt Cassegrain
945 mm focal length
f/6.3
Celestron 0.63× Corrector-Reducer
Insulation Wrapped

Mount:
Vixen Great Polaris GEM Mount
SkyWatcher SynScan EQ5 Pro Go-To Kit Equipped

Camera:
ZWO ASI294MC with DIY Cooling Mod
Optolong L-eXtreme Dual Bandpass Light Pollution Reduction Imaging Filter 1.25"

Guiding:
SVBony SV165 Guidescope
ZWO ASI120MM-Mini Guide Camera

Narrowband Data:
180-second exposures
Gain 340
270 Light Frames
50 Dark Frames
99 Flat Frames
99 Dark-Flat Frames

Camera Sensor Temperature: 11.9°C
Capture Area: 4144 × 2822
Colour Space: RGB24
Output: FITS

Total Light Frames: 270
Integration Time: 13h 30m

Processing:
Adobe Photoshop
StarNet++
Siril
GraXpert
ASTAP
DeepSkyStacker
AstroWizard

Acquisition:
SharpCap
Cartes du Ciel
Stellarium
PHD2
ASCOM
EQMOD
NINA

🌌 Andromeda Galaxy — M31Two nights.Over 10 hours of integration.This is a much closer look at our neighboring major gala...
09/23/2026

🌌 Andromeda Galaxy — M31

Two nights.
Over 10 hours of integration.

This is a much closer look at our neighboring major galaxy.

The C6 SCT gives M31 a very different presence than my wider-field captures.

Here, the dust lanes and spiral structure really start to stand out.

🔭 Look Into Another Galaxy

Andromeda is a barred spiral galaxy about 2.5 million light-years away.

It is the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way.

It contains roughly one trillion stars.

That means every tiny point and structure inside this image is part of an enormous galaxy.

And when you look at M31, you're seeing light that began traveling toward us about 2.5 million years ago.

One of my favorite things about imaging M31 is how much changes when you zoom in.

The bright core dominates at first.

Then the dust lanes begin appearing.

Then the smaller details start revealing themselves.

That is where the extra integration time really becomes interesting.



==== Imaging Data ====

Target: Andromeda Galaxy — M 31
Dates: 9/17/2026, 9/18/2026

Scope / OTA:
Celestron C6 SCT Schmidt Cassegrain
945 mm focal length
f/6.3
Celestron 0.63× Corrector-Reducer
Insulation Wrapped

Mount:
Vixen Great Polaris GEM Mount
SkyWatcher SynScan EQ5 Pro Go-To Kit Equipped

Camera:
ZWO ASI294MC with DIY Cooling Mod
Baader CMOS-Optimized UV/IR Cut 1.25"

Guiding:
SVBony SV165 Guidescope
ZWO ASI120MM-Mini Guide Camera

Broadband Data:
180-second exposures
Gain 150
205 Light Frames
50 Dark Frames
99 Flat Frames
99 Dark-Flat Frames

Camera Sensor Temperature: 12.2°C
Capture Area: 4144 × 2822
Colour Space: RGB24
Output: FITS

Total Light Frames: 205
Integration Time: 10h 15m

Processing:
Adobe Photoshop
StarNet++
Siril
GraXpert
ASTAP
DeepSkyStacker
AstroWizard

Acquisition:
SharpCap
Cartes du Ciel
Stellarium
PHD2
ASCOM
EQMOD
NINA

🔴 The California Nebula — NGC 1499Three nights.Over 9 hours of exposure time.This is my latest capture of the California...
09/17/2026

🔴 The California Nebula — NGC 1499

Three nights.
Over 9 hours of exposure time.

This is my latest capture of the California Nebula, also known as NGC 1499.

The shape is pretty obvious once you see it.

It really does resemble the outline of California. 🌌

🔭 What's Actually Glowing Here?

NGC 1499 is an emission nebula in Perseus, about 1,000 light-years away.

Its extremely low surface brightness makes it difficult to see visually.

Long exposures reveal what our eyes normally miss.

The intense red color comes primarily from hydrogen-alpha emission.

That happens when excited hydrogen atoms release light at about 656.3 nanometers.

And the star powering this glowing cloud is Xi Persei, also called Menkib.

It's a hot O-type star providing the energetic radiation needed to excite the nebula.

There is also some interesting history here.

Edward Emerson Barnard discovered the California Nebula in 1884.

So this giant cloud of glowing hydrogen has been hiding in plain sight.

Astrophotography lets us pull that extremely faint structure out of the darkness.



==== Imaging Data ====

Target: California Nebula — NGC 1499
Dates: 9/14/2026, 9/15/2026, 9/16/2026

Scope / OTA:
Astro-Tech AT-72 EDII Refractor
f/4.8
344 mm focal length
Astro-Tech 0.8× Reducer / Field Flattener

Mount:
Vixen Great Polaris GEM Mount
SkyWatcher SynScan EQ5 Pro Go-To Kit Equipped

Camera:
ZWO ASI294MC with DIY Cooling Mod
Baader CMOS-Optimized UV/IR Cut 1.25"

Guiding:
SVBony SV165 Guidescope
ZWO ASI120MM-Mini Guide Camera

Broadband Data:
180-second exposures
Gain 150
186 Light Frames
50 Dark Frames
No Flats
No Dark-Flats

Camera Sensor Temperature: 11.2°C
Capture Area: 4144 × 2822
Colour Space: RGB24
Output: FITS

Total Light Frames: 186
Integration Time: 9h 18m

Processing:
Adobe Photoshop
StarNet++
Siril
GraXpert
ASTAP
DeepSkyStacker
AstroWizard

Acquisition:
SharpCap
Cartes du Ciel
Stellarium
PHD2
ASCOM
EQMOD
NINA

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97527

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