IC 1318 is an emission nebula lying 3,000 light-years from Earth in the Orion arm of the Milky Way Galaxy. It is rich in dust clouds heavily sculpted by stellar winds. IC 1318 is also known as the Butterfly Nebula and this image covers a portion of the right wing of the butterfly. 

Telescope: Celestron Compustar C14.

Exposures: Ha:L:R:G:B=450:160:140:90:140 minutes=14 hours 50 minutes total exposure at f/8.3. 

This image was published in the July, 2023 issue of Astronomy magazine and selected as an Astronomy Picture of the Day on Astronomy.com.