SH2-174 (Sharpless 174 )

Sh2-174 ranks as the most northern Sharpless objects at 81 degrees north. Sh2-178 very close to Polaris is most likely part of the galactic dust cloud above is just to the north of Sh2-174. It starts to pick up some seen in the upper left corner. The brighter area picks up well with a hydrogen-alpha filter or s standard red filter. However the fainter area around the bright part really works well with only the H-Alpha filter. You will need a very long exposure to pick that part of it up. Large telescopes will not only show more structure, but show more detail in the reflection part of this area. The Oxygen III did not do well at all so Sh2-174 does not make for a good narrowband color image. You will need a great deal of RGB data or the color will come out weak. In addition, the H-Alpha is fairly strong where the reflection part of this image is seen so a composite is needed to retain it.

For a complete list of the Sharpless Catalog visit my main site at http://www.sharplesscatalog.com

Images by Dean Salman