Astrophotographer Ogetay Kayali has captured a nebula resembling a jellyfish — or possibly a brain, depending on your perspective — shining 5,000 light-years from Earth near the bright star Propus, which represents one foot of a mythological twin represented in the constellation Gemini.
Kayali’s view of the nebula highlights the expanding structure of IC 443’s luminous shell, visible in the upper right of the image, glowing alongside dense filaments of interstellar dust and gas punctuated by the multicolored light from stars in the foreground and background of the fog. “This image captures the intricate shock fronts where stellar debris collides with surrounding interstellar gas, causing hydrogen to glow deep crimson while faint filaments trace the turbulent history of the blast wave,” Kayali told Space.com in an email.
The distinctive appearance of IC 443’s shell-like structure has led it to be nicknamed “The Jellyfish Fog”, due to its resemblance to the aquatic creature – but through clever capture, processing and fishing, Kayali chose to highlight the fog’s resemblance to a human brain in his composition.
ZWO ASI533MC Pro
In our opinion, the ZWO ASI533MC Pro camera is the best dedicated astro camera out there. It has a 9 MP sensor with zero amp glow, 80% quantum efficiency and a frame rate of 20 FPS. Check out our ZWO ASI533MC Pro review for a more in-depth look.
“Ironically, jellyfish have no brain!” Kayali said. “Instead of isolating the bright shell alone, I framed the wider environment to reveal how the remnants interact with their surroundings, emphasizing the contrast between emission structures and darker molecular clouds.”
Kayali captured the nebular scene over 17 hours as it glowed in the Texas sky using his William Optics Redcat 51 III WFID telescope along with a ZWO ASI2600MM astronomy camera and H-alpha filter.
Want to take spectacular pictures of the night sky for yourself? So be sure to check out our guide to best cameras and lenses for astrophotographyalong with our summary of best telescopes to explore the night sky!
Editor’s Note: If you would like to share your deep space astrophotography with Space.com readers, please send your photos, comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
