Lion Nebula

Sh2-132, the Lion Nebula, is a large H II region in Cepheus, shaped by the intense radiation and stellar winds of massive stars, including the Wolf-Rayet system WR 153ab. Its structure includes ionized shells surrounded by molecular gas, dense dusty clumps and photodissociation regions, with evidence of ongoing/recent star formation. This is an HOO composition. During processing I unfortunately sacrificed the two beautiful planetary nebulae visible in the field, which were blown out during the stretch. I should have protected them with selective masks... lesson learned! The star colors were reconstructed in PixInsight using the NB to RGB Stars script. And once again, despite the name, I still can't see the Lion... it must be hiding somewhere among all those clouds of Hydrogen and Oxygen!