Located in the Orion-Eridanus Superbubble (OESB)^[4] approximately 150 pc (~500 lightyears) distance^[1,2] is a very unusual nebula-like object^[1].  It was discovered in the early 1980s by R. Weinberger on a paper copy of the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (POSS-I)^[1].  It, however, was not classified at that time^[1].  In the mid-1990s it was named the "Criss-Cross Nebula"^[2] (CCN).  This unusual object is believed to be the result of an interaction with a slow shock front originating in the OESB^[1].  The CCN appears to be in an early-to-medium stage of destruction and will be completely disrupted in an estimated 100,000 years^[4].

The Criss-Cross Nebula is rarely imaged by amateur astronomers, perhaps due to its lack of traditional classification.  It is, in my opinion, a worthy celestial target.

The image above was assembled using hydrogen alpha (Ha) and doubly ionized oxygen (OIII) filtered images.  The Ha image was mapped to the Red channel and the OIII was mapped to the Green and Blue channels. In order to better display the intricate structure of the nebula, a synthetic luminance was created by combining data from 3 narrowband images. (SII, Ha, and OIII)  This luminance layer was then applied to the Ha and OIII assembled image.  The stars were overlaid with data from a separate Red,Green,and Blue filtered image.  This method of assembly produces a near true color image that closely portrays the natural color of the subject object

The image is orientated with north up and east to the left.  Image integration and processing were accomplished using the software applications PixInsight^TM and Photoshop^TM.