NGC 7129 - The Cosmic Rosebud - 2026 Image Processing Walkthrough.

Written By Patrick A. Cosgrove

August 24, 2026

My 2026 image of NGC 7129

🔭 Project Summary

Target: NGC 7129 — The Flower Bud Nebula / Cosmic Rosebud Nebula / Rosebud Nebula

Associated Objects: IC 5134, vdB 146, Ced 196, Collinder 441, LDN 1181, LDN 1183, LBN 497, NGC 7133, and NGC 7142

Capture Dates: July 11, 12, 22, and 23, 2026

Constellation: Cepheus • Distance: ≈ 3,000–3,800 light-years

Type: Reflection nebula / young star-forming region embedded in a larger Cepheus molecular cloud complex

Imaging Period: July 11–23, 2026 • Total Integration: 13 h 54 m 00 s (LRGB)

Filters: L · R · G · B (ZWO 36 mm LRGB Gen II)

Telescope: Astro-Physics 155 mm Starfire EDFS f/5.3

Camera: ZWO ASI2600MM-Pro (−10 °C; Gain 0 LRGB)

Mount: iOptron Tri-Pier with column extension on custom steel pier

Processing: PixInsight (LRGB) & Photoshop

Location: Whispering Skies Observatory · Honeoye Falls, NY (USA)

Acquisition notes: L: 222 × 90 s; R: 111 × 90 s; G: 110 × 90 s; B: 113 × 90 s at −10 °C, Gain 0; total 13 h 54 m 00 s after culling bad or questionable subs.

Image note: This LRGB image captures NGC 7129, the Flower Bud Nebula, as a blue reflection nebula and young stellar nursery set within a wide field of dark Cepheus dust. The surrounding frame includes nearby reflection and dark nebula structures, along with the older open cluster NGC 7142, giving the scene a striking mix of newborn stars, obscuring molecular clouds, and older stellar populations.

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    Special Note

    Welcome to the image-processing page for this project. You got here by following a link from the main NGC 7129 2026 project report, and you can return to that page using your browser's back button.

    Abbreviations Used

    ACM
    Astro Color Mixer Script
    ACE
    Astro Contrast Enhancer Script
    BXT
    BlurXTerminator by RC-Astro
    CC
    Cosmetic Correction
    CT
    CurvesTransformation process
    DBE
    DynamicBackgroundExtraction process
    ET
    ExponentialTransformation process
    HT
    HistogramTransformation process
    NXT
    NoiseXTerminator by RC-Astro
    MLT
    MultiscaleLinearTransform
    PI
    PixInsight
    PS
    Photoshop
    SCNR
    SubtractiveChromaticNoiseReduction process
    SFS
    SubframeSelector
    SPCC
    SpectroPhotometricColorCalibration
    STF
    ScreenTransferFunction
    SXT
    StarXTerminator by RC-Astro
    WBPP
    WeightedBatchPreprocessing script
    STF→HT
    Drag the STF triangle to the base of HistogramTransformation, then apply it to the image to take it nonlinear.

    Summary:

    NGC 7129 LRGB Processing Flow

    Sequential summary of the actual NGC 7129 workflow, following the published NGC 7129 image processing walkthrough: Blink review, WBPP 3.01 integration, RGB construction, linear luminance and RGB correction, starless processing, mask-driven tone and color work, LRGBCombination, RGB star recombination, Photoshop polishing, crop, watermarks, and final web exports.

    1. Blink Review and Frame Culling
    1. Screen All Lights Reviewed the L, R, G, and B data for thin-cloud frames, tracking problems, and obvious defects
    →
    2. Cull Luminance Removed 19 Lum frames: 2 for tracking issues and the rest for clouds
    →
    3. Cull RGB Removed 6 Red frames, 7 Green frames, and 5 Blue frames for clouds
    →
    4. Check Calibration Frames Darks, dark flats, and flats all looked suitable for processing
    2. WBPP 3.01 Calibration and Integration
    5. Load WBPP Data Reset WBPP, loaded all lights, flats, and darks, and selected the WBPP output directory
    →
    6. Quality-First Setup Selected maximum quality, automatic reference image, automatic pedestal, and cosmetic correction for all light frames
    →
    7. Calibration Options Set dark and light exposure tolerances to 0; selected all light correction options except linear defect correction
    →
    8. Run WBPP Enabled Autocrop, chose not to use Drizzle, and completed WBPP in 2:20:35
    3. Master Image Setup
    9. Load Masters Loaded all integrated master images from WBPP
    →
    10. Build RGB Master Used ChannelCombination to create the master RGB color image
    4. Initial Linear Luminance Processing
    11. DBE on Lum Ran DynamicBackgroundExtraction with subtraction, avoiding nebulae and bright stars; DBE removed most of the bottom-left gradient
    →
    12. BXT Correct Only Ran BlurXTerminator in correct-only mode; there was no real need for it on this image
    →
    13. Measure Lum Stars Used PFSImage to measure star sizes: X = 2.12 and Y = 1.99
    →
    14. Full BXT Ran full BlurXTerminator with enhanced values a little over double the measured star sizes to shrink stars more aggressively
    15. NXT V3 Applied NoiseXTerminator V3 to the linear luminance image
    →
    16. SXT on Lum Ran StarXTerminator; Lum stars were not saved because they were not used later
    5. Initial Linear RGB Processing
    17. DBE on RGB Ran DBE with subtraction using a sampling plan based on the Lum run and avoiding nebulae and bright stars
    →
    18. SPCC Calibration Selected a background preview and ran SpectroPhotometricColorCalibration
    →
    19. BXT Correct Only Used BlurXTerminator correct-only to clean up corner stars; the optics were already performing well
    →
    20. Measure RGB Stars Used PFSImage to measure star sizes: X = 1.85 and Y = 1.91
    21. Full BXT Used enhanced BlurXTerminator values, about double the measured star sizes, to shrink stars more
    →
    22. NXT V3 Applied NoiseXTerminator V3 to the linear RGB image
    →
    23. SXT for RGB Stars Ran StarXTerminator and saved the RGB stars for final recombination
    6. Go Nonlinear
    24. Stretch Lum and RGB Used the STF → HistogramTransformation method to take the linear luminance and RGB images nonlinear
    →
    25. Stretch RGB Stars Used Seti Astro Star Stretch on the RGB star image with two star-stretch passes: 6.0 stretch and 1.7 saturation boost
    →
    26. Preserve the Star Field Skipped the lower default StarStretch position to keep the crowded star field and open cluster feeling intact
    7. Mask Construction
    27. WarmMask Built with ColourMask for the faint reddish background glow and red-magenta portions of the Flower Bud; hues 288 to 61, mask blur 5
    →
    28. CoolMask Built with ColourMask to help enhance the blue reflection nebula of the Flower Bud
    →
    29. CoreMask Used the GAME script to isolate the flower/core from the surrounding background sky
    8. Nonlinear Luminance Starless Processing
    30. Base Tone Work Used CurvesTransformation to darken the background sky
    →
    31. HDRMT Recovery Ran HDRMultiscaleTransform to reopen highlights in the Flower Bud that were being lost
    →
    32. Rebalance Tone Applied CurvesTransformation again to rebalance the tone scale after HDRMT
    →
    33. Large-Scale LHE Enhanced large-scale background structures with LHE: scale 230, contrast limit 2.0, amount 0.25, 10-bit histogram
    34. Noise and Sharpness Applied NoiseXTerminator, then used a light dose of BlurXTerminator as a subtle sharpener
    →
    35. Artifact Repair Exported to Photoshop and used the healing brush to remove a circular artifact that DBE and RangeMask did not handle
    →
    36. Masked Background Control Used RangeMask, BottomLeftMask, BoxMask, LeftMask, and TopRightMask with CT and LHE to balance local background structure
    →
    37. Final Lum NXT Applied another NoiseXTerminator V3 pass after the localized tone and LHE work
    9. Nonlinear RGB Starless Processing and LRGB Assembly
    38. RGB Tone and Color Used CurvesTransformation to adjust the tone scale and boost background colors
    →
    39. WarmMask Work Used the WarmMask with CurvesTransformation to push the reddish background glow and warm Flower Bud tones further
    →
    40. CoolMask Work Used the CoolMask with CurvesTransformation to tune the blue reflection nebula
    →
    41. RGB Noise Control Applied NoiseXTerminator to prepare the RGB image for luminance integration
    42. LRGBCombination Folded the processed luminance image into the RGB image using LRGBCombination
    →
    43. Post-LRGB CT Used CurvesTransformation to tweak the image after combining luminance and color
    →
    44. ACE and ACM Polish Used Astro Contrast Enhancer for a small amount of Texture and Clarity around 20, then Astro Color Mixer for small color-position tweaks
    →
    45. Photoshop Lasso Tweaks Exported to Photoshop for small lasso-based curve and color tweaks, then brought the image back into PixInsight
    10. Add RGB Stars Back In
    46. ScreenStars Recombination Used the ScreenStars script to add the prepared RGB stars back into the starless LRGB image
    →
    47. Choose Star Strength Tested medium and large star versions and chose the large stars to best balance the crowded field
    11. Photoshop Polish, Crop, and Web Output
    48. Export TIFF Saved the image as a 16-bit unsigned TIFF and moved it to Photoshop for final polishing
    →
    49. Final Crop Chose a slight crop to better fill the main image diagonal with the primary image features
    →
    50. Add Watermarks Added watermarks and final presentation finishing touches
    →
    51. Final JPEG Exports Exported clear, watermarked, and web-sized JPEG versions for publication and sharing
    12. Final Image
    52. Completed Result Final NGC 7129 LRGB image: reflection nebulosity, dark Cepheus dust, open clusters, and RGB stars preserved in the finished wide-field presentation

    Processing this Image

    (All Processing is done in PixInsight, with some final touches done in Photoshop)

    1. Blink

    First, I screened the data for thin-cloud frames and obvious defects.

    • Lum

      • 19 frames removed - 2 for tracking and the rest for clouds.

    • Red

      • 6 frames removed for clouds.

    • Green

      • 7 frames removed for clouds

    • Blue

      • 5 frames removed for clouds.

    • Darks

      • All looked OK.

    • Dark Flats

      • All looked OK.

    • Flats

      • All good.

    2. WBPP 3.01

    With the bad frames identified, I ran everything through WBPP with a quality-first configuration:

    • Reset everything

    • Load all lights

    • Load all flats

    • Load all dark flats

    • Load all darks

    • Selected maximum quality

    • Reference Image: auto, the default

    • Select the output directory for the WBPP folder

    • Enable CC for all light frames

    • Pedestal value: auto

    • Darks - set exposure tolerance to 0

    • Lights - set exposure tolerance to 0

    • Lights: all correction options selected except linear defect correction.

    • Enabled Autocrop

    • I chose NOT to use Drizzle processing.

      WBPP completed in 2:20:35.

    WBPP Calibration View

    WBPP Post Calibration View

    WBPP Pipeline View

    3. Load Master Images and Create Color Images

    • Load all master images.

    • Using ChannelCombination, create the master RGB color image

    The Individual L, R, G, and B master linear images.

    Master RGB image.

    4. Initial Processing of Linear Luminance Data

    • Run DBE for the linear luminance image. Use subtraction as the correction method. Choose a sampling plan that avoids the nebulae and bright stars. (See below). A significant gradient leads to the bottom-left corner. DBE took most of it out.

    • Run BXT - Correct Only. This image did not need much correction, but I ran it as a light cleanup pass

    • Run the PFSImage script to measure star sizes.  X = 2.12,  Y = 1.99. This will influence the values used in BXT.

    • Run full BXT. I used an enhanced set of values to shrink the stars more aggressively. These are a little over double the measured star sizes. See the BXT Panel Snapshot below.

    • Run NXT V3; refer to the parameters in the snapshot below.

    • Run SXT - no need to save the Lum stars, as we will not be using them.

    Master L Image DBE Sampling Plan (click to enlarge)

    Master L- Before DBE (click to enlarge)

    Master L after DBE (click to enlarge)

    Background Subtracted by DBE (click to enlarge)

    Measuring Star Sizes with PFSImage Script (click to enlarge)

    BXT Settings Used. (click to enlarge)

    NXT Panel used. (click to enlarge)

    Master Lum Before BXT Correct Only, After BXT Correct Only, After BXT Full, After NXT

    Final Master Lum Image

    Master Lum Starless Image (click to enlarge)

    5.0 Initial Processing of Linear RGB Data

    • Run DBE on the linear RGB image. Use subtraction for the correction method. Start with the same sampling plan from the Lum run. Choose a sampling plan that avoids the nebulae and bright stars. (see below)

    • Select a background preview, then set up and run SPCC. See the SPCC Panel shot below for the parameters used.

    • Run BXT - Correct only. This cleaned up the stars at the corners. There was not much to correct because the optics were performing well.

    • Run the PFSImage script to measure star sizes. X=1.85    Y = 1.91. This will influence the values used in BXT.

    • Run Full BXT - I used an enhanced set of values to shrink stars more. These are about double the measured star sizes. See the BXT Panel Snapshot below.

    • Run NXT V3; refer to the parameters in the snapshot below.

    • Run SXT - this time we will save the RGB stars.

    Master RGB Sampling Plan (click to enlarge)

    Master RGB before DBE (click to enlarge)

    Master RGB after DBE (click to enlarge)

    Master RGB Background removed (click to enlarge)

    Master RGB before SPCC (click to enlarge)

     

    SPCC Panel showing parameters used.

    SPCC Regression results.

    Master RGB after SPCC.

    PFSImage panel showing star sizes.

    NXT Panel showing parameters used.

    Master RGB Before BXT Correct Only, After BXT Correct Only, After BXT Full, After NXT

    Master RGB Image before SXT.

    Master RGB Starless Image. (click to enlarge)

    Master RGB Stars image (click to enlarge)

    6. Go Nonlinear

    • Using the STF → HT method, convert the linear Luminance and RGB images to nonlinear.

    • Using Seti Astro Star Stretch, take the nonlinear RGB star image with two levels of star stretch:

      • 6.0 stretch and 1.7 saturation boost.

      • 7.0 stretch and 1.7 saturation boost.

      • This is a crowded star field, and I want to preserve that feeling and show off the open cluster, so I skipped the lower-level default position in StarStretch.

    Nonlinear Starting Lum Image (zoomed) (click to enlarge)

    Nonlinear RGB image (zoomed) (click to enlarge)

    Slight Stretch RGB Stars (Click to enlarge)

    More agressive Stretch RGB Stars

    First Star position.

    Second Star posiiton.

    7. Create Masks

    • I want to create and use three masks:

      • The Warm Mask will be used to boost the faint reddish glow of the background sky and the red-magenta portions of the Flower Bud

      • The Cool Mask will be used to enhance the blue reflection nebula of the flower bud

      • The Core Mask will allow me to work on the flower vs. the background sky.

    • Use the ColourMask Process to create the color masks.

      • WarmMask: Hues 288 to 61, Mask Blur 5

      • CoolMask: Hues 155 to 245, Mask Blur 5

    • Use the GAME script to create the CoreMask.

    WarmMask Panel settings.

    CoolMask Panel Settings.

    BottomLeftMask

    Initial WarmMask. (click to enlarge)

    After CT Boost.

    Initial CoolMask (click to enlarge)

    After CT boost (click to enlarge)

    8. Process the Nonlinear Lum Starless Image

    • Apply CT to darken the background sky

    • The highlights in the Flower Bud were starting to close up, so I used HDRMT to open them back up. See screen snap below for the HDRMT params used.

    • Apply CT to rebalance the tone scale after the HDRMT operation.

    • Now I want to enhance the large-scale structures in the background sky. Apply LHE with a scale of 230, a contrast limit of 2.0, an amount of 0.25, and a 10-bit histogram.

    • Apply NXT to handle noise - see the NXT panel screenshot below for parameters used

    • I don’t normally do this, but lately I have been experimenting with using light doses of BXT for sharpening. I did this here. See the BXT panel screenshot for parameters used. This is a very subtle but real improvement.

    The initial image (click to enlarge).

     

    HDRMT Parameters used for the next step.

    After CT (click to enlarge)

    Zoomed in to better show the next few detail-level operations (click to enlarge)

     

    Params used in the last step (click to enlarge)

    Using BXT to slightly sharpen (Click to Enlarge)

    After CT (click to enlarge)

    After HDRMT (click to enlarge)

    After Large Structure LHE (click to enlarge)

    Apply NXT (click to enlarge)

    Params used in the next step (click to enlarge)

     

    Final Lum image (click to enlarge)

    9. Now Process the RGB Starless Image

    • Adjust the tone scale with CT and boost background colors

    • Adjust the tone scale with CT, and use the WarmMask to go further

    • Apply CT with the CoolMask to get the color and tone right for the reflection nebula.

    • Apply NXT to handle noise and get ready for folding in the Lum image. See screenshot for params used.

    • Use the LRGBCombination Process to fold the Lum image into the current RGB image.

    • Use CT to tweak things after the last operation

    • Next, I used ACE to put a small amount of Texture and Clarity into the images. This was a very small amount - around 20.

    • Then I used ACM to fine-tune the color position. These were small tweaks to taste.

    • Finally, I exported the image to Photoshop. I often use the lasso tool to tweak small areas for curve and color as a final polish. Afterward, I bring the image back into PixInsight.

    Initial RGB nonlinear image (click to enlarge)

    After CT(click to enlarge)

    After CT adjustment with WarmMask to boost color (click to enlarge)

    NXT Params used on the next step(click to enlarge)

    After Lum image folded in(click to enlarge)

    ACE Script showing some of the adjustments made. (click to enlarge)

    After ACE - just a little Texture and Clarity (click to enlarge)

    CT with CoolMask (click to enlarge)

    After NXT (click to enlarge)

    After CT (click to enlarge)

    ACM Script - Showing some of the adjustments made. (click to enlarge)

    After fine tuning with ACM (click to enlarge)

    Final RGB color image after Photoshop Lasso tweaks. (click to enlarge)

    10. Add the Stars Back In

    • Using the ScreenStars script, add the stars back into the starless LRGB image. I tested the medium and large star versions to see which best balanced the star field and chose the large stars.

    Screnstars with the final RGB image and the Larger star sizes. (click to enlarge)

    With Larg stars.

    11. Export the Image to Photoshop for Polishing

    • Save the image as a 16-bit unsigned TIFF and move it to Photoshop

    • At this point, the image was technically complete, but I had to decide whether a crop would improve the composition. I chose a slight crop to let the main features fill the diagonal of the composition more naturally.

    • Added watermarks

    • Exported clear, watermarked, and web-sized JPEGs.

    The Final Image

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    Thanks,

    Pat

    Patrick A. Cosgrove

    A retired technology geek leveraging his background and skills in Imaging Systems and Computers to pursue the challenging realm of Astrophotography. This has been a fascinating journey where Art and Technology confront the beauty and scale of a universe that boggles the mind…. It’s all about capturing ancient light - those whispering photons that have traveled long and far….

    https://cosgrovescosmos.com/
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    NGC 7008- The Fetus Nebula (2026): Image Processing Walkthrough