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SVX130T - Dark Shark

October 13, 2026 - Mark Savan

Mark Savan captured this spectacular shot of the Dark Shark Nebula in Cepheus with his SVX130T. This Dark Nebula is located approximately 650 light-years away from Earth and spans about 15 light-years across. The interstellar gas cloud in this object is mainly composed of hydrogen and helium, with traces of other elements like carbon, oxygen and nitrogen. The entire complex associated with this nebula is one of several regions known for star formation in the “Cepheus Flare.”

Other Designations: Dark Shark Nebula, LBN 535, LDN 1235

Details:

Telescope: Stellarvue SVX130T

Focuser: Stellarvue 3” Rack and Pinion

Reducer Flattener: SFFRX-130140

Camera: ZWO ASI2600MM Pro

Mount: iOptron CEM70G

Filters:

Chroma Blue 36 mm
Chroma Green 36 mm
Chroma Lum 36 mm
Chroma Red 36 mm

Software:

Adobe Photoshop
Aries Productions Astro Pixel Processor (APP)
Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight
Russell Croman Astrophotography BlurXTerminator
Russell Croman Astrophotography NoiseXTerminator
Russell Croman Astrophotography StarXTerminator
SetiAstro Automatic DBE
SetiAstro Find Background
SetiAstro Star Stretch
Stefan Berg Nighttime Imaging 'N' Astronomy (N.I.N.A. / NINA)

*For more details and an in-depth look at this image, visit Mark's AstroBin.

This image was recently selected as AstroBin’s Image of the Day (IOTD).

References:

Shark Nebula (LDN 1235) | Deep⋆Sky Corner. (n.d.). https://deepskycorner.ch/obj/ldn1235.en.php

AstroBin. (n.d.). AstroBin. https://app.astrobin.com/u/astrosavy?i=a7y7v8

Grelin, A. &. D. (2023, July 26). LDN 1235 - The Shark Nebula - The most difficult object imaged so far. Galactic Hunter. https://www.galactic-hunter.com/post/the-shark-nebula

Admin. (2026, February 28). Shark Nebula (LDN 1235): The hidden predator of Cepheus. Constellation Guide. https://www.constellation-guide.com/shark-nebula-ldn-1235/