This is a widefield view of Sh2-308:

The nebula surrounds a pre-supernova Wolf-Rayet star named EZ Canis Majoris – it is the star with the diffraction spikes on it in the image.

The nebula was formed when EZ Canis Majoris expelled its outer hydrogen layer into space, thereby revealing its lower layers made up of heavier elements.

The star will eventually become a supernova, at which point it will consume the existing nebula.

Acquisition and Processing

I acquired this image using Telescope Live using narrowband filters as follows:

  • H-alpha: 20 minutes
  • SII: 20 minutes
  • OIII: 20 minutes

I processed this image using various color palettes and combined them to produce the image on this post, which could be considered a pseudo RGB image because of the colors in the image.