Polaris B

Orion 6" f/5 Imaging Newtonian, Set Up for Imaging

2012-02-05T22:20:00.000-06:00

Here is the 6" after a night of imaging.

M78, Leo I, and Hickson 44 (the NGC 3190 group)

2012-02-04T23:50:00.004-06:00

On the night of January 29, I set up the 6" f/5 newt with the Astro Tech Coma Corrector and the SXVF-H9. I wanted a shot of Leo I. But I set up early, and Leo I was not up yet. M78 was positioned just right, so I shot a couple of hours. Leo I came up, and I began to see wispy clouds. Oh, bother. I went ahead, anyway. After a couple of hours, the scope needed a meridian flip. I flipped over and centered Leo I and found an annoying reflection in the the center of the image. It was Regulus, I'm betting, but I have no idea where the reflection was coming from within the telescope. I obviously have some study to do. Anyway, there was no way to avoid the reflection that night, so I just moved to another target, one of my favorite galaxy clusters, Hickson 44. Because of all the moving around, I was only able to get about half the time on each object that I would like, and truthfully M78 needs about ten more hours and a darker sky. Anyway, here are the three images nonetheless, processed, cropped, and otherwise fixed for best presentation. No color here; the H9 is a monochrome and I was shooting for luminance, only. Also, please note that the wispy clouds stayed with me for the rest of the night.

M78, 17x7', a reflection nebula teaming with new stars about 1300 to 1600 light years distant.

Leo I, 14x7', a small galaxy about 800,000 light years away. The bright star to the left (south) of the galaxy's location is Regulus.

Hickson 44, 22x7', a galaxy cluster 72 to 111 million light years away.

Telescope: Orion 6" f/5 Imaging Newtonian with GSO Coma Corrector (effectively at f/5.5)
Camera & Exposure: SXVF-H9
Filter: Astronomik IDAS-LPS2
Guiding: SX Lodestar, SX OAG
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

More NGC 2903 (Jan. 26, 2012)

2012-01-30T03:04:00.002-06:00

A cold front blew through and cleared off the sky. But the cold front also made the air turbulent. Seeing was therefore not the best on this night, and the resolution of this 5-hour integration of NGC 2903 suffered. Still, it is deeper and more noise-free than the image I took last week. I'm glad to have it.

Telescope: Orion 6" f/5 Imaging Newtonian with GSO Coma Corrector (effectively at f/5.5)
Camera & Exposure: SXVF-H9, 50x6'
Filter: Astronomik IDAS-LPS2
Guiding: SX Lodestar, SX OAG
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

NGC 2903 (Jan. 18, 2012)

2012-01-19T21:14:00.000-06:00

This is an old, familiar target for me. There are a few hours in January-March when there is little else visible from my backyard that I can shoot in the eastern sky. This year, I was planning on spending five hours on it to get a deeper image. I was also trying out my re-furbed H9, back from England, and a new Astro-Tech coma corrector. I transferred the FT focuser to the Orion 6" Imaging Newtonian, put the coma corrector on the filter wheel, and set up in the backyard. I started at around 8:40 pm. By 10:25, I was shooting and quickly realized that the distance between the coma corrector and chip was wrong, probably too far. I went out, took the whole assembly apart, removed an extension tube, and put it all back together. This image shows much better control, actually quite good. I have some oddities left, which I cropped out. I'm not sure whether they are from camera or corrector.
Anyway, I had everything focused and trained on NGC 2903 by midnight, and I was prepared to gather light on this distant galaxy for the next five hours. After 40 minutes, I looked outside. Clouds! Ahhh. How did that happen? I checked the weather forecast. It had changed while I was setting up, from clear to cloudy for the rest of the night. Oh, bother. I brought the whole assembly inside.
That is why this image is only 6x5'. That's all I could get. But, you know, I post what I get. It's a blog, not an art gallery. Transparency was about a 5 out of 10, so with reflected light of the burbs, there was a bit of sky glow. But, hey, it's another galaxy, and these details are all available to those who can look up with the right equipment! Distance estimates for NGC 2903 range from 20 to 38 million light years.

Quick Observing Session, SV80ED

2012-01-14T23:57:00.003-06:00

Tonight was clear, but the moon was coming up soon. I took the SV80ED out for a quick look. Orion was high in the sky. I used the 30mm at 18.6x for wide sweeps and to find things. Then I ramped up to 112x with the 5mm Vixen Lanthanum for a close look. If that was not close enough, I'd use the 2x barlow with the 5mm for 224x. Seeing was not great.
Rigel, which I have always found easy in a good refractor, was cleanly split but with the companion only visible sometimes at 224x. The brighter component danced about in the cooling air. Temps probably began at around 48F and dropped 5 degrees while I was observing.
From Rigel, I went up to the Trapezium. The F component blinked in and out, but E was buried in the seeing for me. I could not spot it, either at 112x or 224x. One could easily see the arms of M42 reaching out from the area.
Next up was Sigma Orionis, a multiple star system which is really a small cluster in the process of breaking up. Nicely framed at 112x.
From there, I moved north and found M78 at 18.6x. It's just a smudge of blue in my suburban sky. I tried to get a closer look with the 5mm but could not see it.
Next over to Sirius, a great sight in the SVED80. At 18.6x, I saw no false color at all. It was just a beautiful white star in a lovely field. From Sirius, I moved south to M41, which looked small and somewhat unimpressive in the wide field of the 30mm. So I moved down to the next bright star in Canis Major and used it to find NGC 2362. I always look for the Queen and Her Court, an open cluster of stars presided over by one particularly bright star complemented by several dimmer cluster members that shimmer and dance around her. It reminds me of my bride and our beautiful children (ok, we don't have quite that many). Of this cluster, the 30mm hardly revealed anything, and the 5mm blew up the picture too much. Better get out the 10mm Vixen Lanthanum, I figured, which yielded 56x and framed the cluster perfectly.

The cold by this time was biting my fingers. It was time to go in. I snapped an image of the scope sitting on the Vixen Polaris mount. The two go together perfectly.

M31, the Andromeda Galaxy, and Sixty-four Globular Clusters with the SV80ED (Nov. 30, 2011)

2011-12-15T00:26:00.004-06:00

This image may be best observed by clicking on it, then right-clicking on the pop-up image and selecting "View Image." You should be able to read the labels and see each individual, marked cluster.

This image of a central portion of the Andromeda Galaxy is only a combined 36 minutes of exposure (9x4'). I was testing to see what kind of exposures I will eventually need to take a real image of this amazing galaxy, the nearest major galaxy to our Milky Way. After I calibrated and combined the images and began to stretch the histogram of the combined frame, I wondered if I might see some globular clusters around the galaxy. I know that amateurs with large scopes often hunt them down. Perhaps I could see a few, too?

A web search led me to Robert Gendler's amazing image of M31 in which he has labelled a bunch of globs. I compared my image with his and found quite a few matches. Going to the source of his labels, Paul W. Hodge's Atlas of the Andromeda Galaxy, I realized that I could see not just a few but very many. I have not labelled all of those that I found, actually. Some are too faint to see unless the image is blown up, and some are located near the center of the galaxy where Hodge's plates, or at least those found on the website, are too blurred or noisy to read. But I have labelled sixty-four, many more than I thought I would find.

Not bad for 36 minutes through an 80mm scope.

Telescope: Stellarvue SV80ED NHNG f/7 w/WO ff/fr 0.8 II (so effectively at f/5.6)
Camera & Exposure: SXVF-H9C, 9x4'
Filter: Astronomik IDAS-LPS2
Guiding: Borg 50mm, Meade DSI Pro, PHD
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

M45, Pleiades, (Six of) Seven Sisters, Subaru (Nov. 27 & 28, 2011)

2011-12-03T19:41:00.014-06:00

This cluster is about 440 light years away in the constellation Taurus. You can see at least six (some see more) of the stars with your eyes, without optical aid. It's a cluster I always look for when I go out. What the eyes do not show is the nebulosity. The young cluster is passing through a cloud of gas and dust, and the light from the bright, blue-white stars is reflected back toward us.

Thanks to Dick Locke for processing suggestions. Here is another rendition of the same data:

Telescope: Stellarvue SV80ED NHNG f/7 w/WO ff/fr 0.8 II (so effectively at f/5.6)
Camera & Exposure: SXVF-H9C, 69x10'
Filter: Astronomik IDAS-LPS2
Guiding: Borg 50mm, Meade DSI Pro, PHD
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

M35 & NGC 2158 (Nov. 28, 2011)

2011-11-30T23:26:00.002-06:00

Here are two open clusters in the constellation Gemini. M35 is the apparently larger, bluer cluster. It is younger and is relatively close. NGC 2158 is the apparently smaller, redder group. It is much farther away and very much older. Its stars have passed the blue stage and moved on to the older, redder stage. There is also some dust between us and NGC 2158 that reddens the view. The result is a nice contrast between the two clusters.

Telescope: Stellarvue 80ED NHNG (SV80ED) f/7 w/WO ff/fr 0.8 II (so effectively at f/5.6)
Camera & Exposure: SXVF-H9C, 10x8'
Filter: Astronomik IDAS-LPS2
Guiding: Borg 50mm, Meade DSI Pro, PHD
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

SH2-261 (Nov. 3, 2011)

2011-11-08T23:06:00.003-06:00

This nebula in Orion is also called Lower's Nebula. Apparently Lower was a father-son team who recorded the nebula on photographic plates in 1939. See here. The two were accomplished amateur astronomers and innovative astrophotographers.

This is just the H-alpha data. I'd like to gather other colors as well. For now, though, it's interesting to see. The Nebula covers an area larger than the apparent size of the full moon.

Telescope: Orion 120ST f/5 Achromat w/WO ff/fr 0.8 II (so effectively at f/4)
Camera & Exposure: Atik 16, 14x15'
Filter: Astronomik 12nm H-alpha
Guiding: Borg 50mm, Meade DSI Pro, PHD
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

IC 1795 (Nov. 3, 2011)

2011-11-05T20:11:00.000-05:00

This striking cloud of hydrogen lies in the eastern part of the constellation Cassiopeia and is part of a much larger nebula also known as IC 1805 or the Heart Nebula. This image is primarily glowing hydrogen and perhaps nitrogen. It was taken through a filter that records only those wavelengths. I hope to back for the glowing oxygen next week.

Telescope: Orion 120ST f/5 Achromat w/WO ff/fr 0.8 II (so effectively at f/4)
Camera & Exposure: Atik 16, 14x15'
Filter: Astronomik 12nm H-alpha
Guiding: Borg 50mm, Meade DSI Pro, PHD
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

Melotte 15 in IC 1805 (Oct. 28, 2011)

2011-10-30T22:20:00.000-05:00

Melotte 15 is a cluster of young stars at the heart of a large cloud of gas and dust often called the Heart Nebula, IC 1805. Mel 15 is the heart of the Heart. The cloud and cluster lie in the constellation Cassiopeia.

Telescope: Orion 10" f/4.7 Newtonian & Baader RCC1
Camera & Exposure: SXVF-H9C, 20x10'
Filter: Astronomik IDAS-LPS2
Guiding: SX Lodestar and SX OAG
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

SH2-232 & PK 173+3.1 (Oct. 20, 2011)

2011-10-29T15:46:00.004-05:00

This rather dim cloud of hydrogen is found in the constellation Auriga. I don't know much about it, but I'm always intrigued when nature makes a more geometrical shape. There are forces at work here! This is the object I trained the SXVF-H9 on for the rest of the night after NGC 281, before I sent the camera off for repairs.

Smack dab in the middle of this nebula sh2-232 is another nebula, a planetary nebula called PK 173+3.1. It is very small. In the middle of sh2-232 are three brighter stars, two together and one just a bit a way. The planetary is the fourth bright (but diffuse) object in the group. It forms a triangle with the two brighter stars that are closer together. Here is a closeup on the planetary.

Telescope: Orion 120ST f/5 Achromat w/WO ff/fr 0.8 II (so effectively at f/4)
Camera & Exposure: SXVF-H9, 15x15'
Filter: Astronomik 12nm H-alpha
Guiding: Borg 50mm, Meade DSI Pro, PHD
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

NGC 281, the Pacman Nebula (Oct. 20, 2011)

2011-10-26T11:05:00.001-05:00

OK, I've shot this before, but this is first light with a used SXVF-H9 camera I have obtained. The camera has an electrical problem that sends a noise-creating current into the system, and I've sent it off for repair. SX makes wonderful cameras, and their customer service has been top notch. I have every hope the camera will come back in fine working order. At any rate, this first light gives a hint at what the camera can do. Darks and bias frames subtracted, and flats applied, and reduced in size by one-third.

Telescope: Orion 120ST f/5 Achromat w/WO ff/fr 0.8 II (so effectively at f/4)
Camera & Exposure: SXVF-H9, 18x10'
Filter: Astronomik 12nm H-alpha
Guiding: Borg 50mm, Meade DSI Pro, PHD
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

IC 410 & NGC 1893 (Oct. 2, 2011)

2011-10-14T10:21:00.004-05:00

This nebulous cloud of gas (IC 410) and embedded cluster of stars (NGC 1893) are found in the constellation Auriga. They are perhaps 12,000 light years away. As an image, the scene presents wonderful contrasts: the bright red, hydrogen emission tadpoles in the lower left; the purplish glow of ionized hydrogen and oxygen in the larger nebula; the light-deprived dust clouds in the upper part of the image; and, spread out across the scene, are the stars that have formed from the very gas in this cloud on this side facing earth---a brilliant spread of jewels on purple velvet.

This is my third observation of IC 410 and NGC 1893. The first is here, just an h-alpha take with a smaller scope. The second is here, a close-up on the tadpoles.

Telescope: Orion 10" f/4.7 Newtonian & Baader RCC1
Camera & Exposure: SXVF-H9C, 20x10'
Filter: Astronomik IDAS-LPS2
Guiding: SX Lodestar and SX OAG
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

M76 (October 2, 2011)

2011-10-07T21:00:00.004-05:00

This is M76. It is a planetary nebula in the constellation Perseus. It is colorful, with red emission from hydrogen and nitrogen and blue emission from oxygen. It is a beauty!

Sometimes, everything works. The night of October 2 was clear and cool. The air was still. I had taken my camera and off-axis guider apart and put them back together in a better way. I had tightened everything down. M76 is a fairly bright target. What you see here is probably near the resolution limit of this scope and camera. If I can, I would like to get another three or four hours on this lovely object and see if I can make the extended lobes brighter and more defined.

The image above is a wide field and will not be viewed at 100% if you click on it. Here is a 100% view:

Telescope: Orion 10" f/4.7 Newtonian & Baader RCC1
Camera & Exposure: SXVF-H9C, 14x10'
Filter: Astronomik IDAS-LPS2
Guiding: SX Lodestar and SX OAG
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

Iris Nebula & M1: Promising But Need More Time (September 24, 2011)

2011-10-03T21:45:00.001-05:00

These two images are beginnings. At the observatory last week, one friend suggested I image the Iris. I took several frames. The air was turbulent and guiding was difficult. I decided to switch over to the Helix Nebula. After the Helix set, another friend suggested M1, which was rising above Orion in the constellation Taurus. Both of these objects, the Iris and M1, could use several more hours exposure, but these images are promising. This is my first observation of the Iris and my second of M1. I would have taken more subs of M1 but my light-pollution filter dewed up (just about my only optical surface in danger from dew).

The Iris Nebula:

Telescope: Orion 10" f/4.7 Newtonian & Baader RCC1
Camera & Exposure: SXVF-H9C, 5x10'
Filter: Astronomik IDAS-LPS2
Guiding: SX Lodestar and SX OAG
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: SHSU Observatory, Huntsville, TX

And M1, sometimes called the Crab Nebula:

Telescope: Orion 10" f/4.7 Newtonian & Baader RCC1
Camera & Exposure: SXVF-H9C, 2x10'
Filter: Astronomik IDAS-LPS2
Guiding: SX Lodestar and SX OAG
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: SHSU Observatory, Huntsville, TX

The Helix Nebula (September 24, 2011)

2011-09-30T22:36:00.003-05:00

The Helix Nebula is relatively near, roughly 650-700 light years distant. We see it in the constellation Aquarius. At that distance, it is probably about 3 light years across, and it appears to take up about half the diameter of the full moon. Because it is wide and diffuse, it is faint. I've seen it with 20x80 binoculars from the desert near Reno, NV, and later with a C8 from south of Rexburg, Idaho. It was much more obvious with the binoculars. In fact, I came across it while scanning the sky with the 20x80s. I had to figure out what I was seeing. In the C8, I had to search for it with charts! It seemed extremely faint.

On the night this image was taken, seeing was lousy. That means that the air was boiling with heat turbulence, like the air just above a hot highway; well, probably not quite that much, but it's the same thing happening. That means the resolution of my imaging system was decreased. It's harder to pick up fine details in a long exposure when the air is moving around. I wanted to catch some of the red knots in the blue circle. Can you see some? I was surprised how many galaxies appeared, even shining through the nebula.

Here is a sharper version. For reference, here's an image clearly showing the knots (in that image the blue signal is strong enough to make the knots look mostly white). Thanks to Jim Wood for processing tips.

IC 63 (9-23-2011)

2011-09-27T23:19:00.003-05:00

IC 63 is a cloud of gas and dust next to the star Gamma Cassiopeia. Gamma Cas's radiation and perhaps an outflow of gas from the star itself are causing IC 63 to glow. The star and nebula are relatively close to us. The star is not in this image, but the direction of its location is obvious.

Telescope: Orion 10" f/4.7 Newtonian & Baader RCC1
Camera & Exposure: SXVF-H9C, 20x10'
Filter: Astronomik IDAS-LPS2
Guiding: SX Lodestar and SX OAG
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

M2 (9-23-2011)

2011-09-24T12:19:00.004-05:00

M2 is a globular cluster found in the constellation Aquarius. In my little SV80ED, I see perhaps one star and a fuzzy, round blob. The 10" and camera resolve it into hundreds of stars. This image has been shrunk to 74% of its original size. Thanks to Jim Wood for processing tips.

Telescope: Orion 10" f/4.7 Newtonian & Baader RCC1
Camera & Exposure: SXVF-H9C, 10x3'
Filter: Astronomik IDAS-LPS2
Guiding: SX Lodestar and SX OAG
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

Double Star Observing, SV80ED (September 19, 2011)

2011-09-19T23:54:00.002-05:00

Tonight I viewed most of the fine "Double Stars of Autumn" identified by James Mullaney in the October S&T. I carried the SV80ED and Vixen Polaris into the backyard (in one trip) and stayed out for about 90 minutes. Here are my notes of the double stars (and a few deep sky objects close by): 61 Cygni (underwhelming); Gamma Andromedae (always nice); Beta Lyrae (visual double; a very nice sight); M57 (a fully resolved ring at 112x, looks ghostly); Gamma Delphini & Struve 2725 (in the same view at 56x, and Gamma Delphini has a nice color contrast: light yellow and light green); Zeta Aquarii (my favorite of this list, just 2.2" apart, and nearly even in brightness, at 112x like headlights blasting through the heavens); Struve 3053 in Cassiopeia (underwhelming, easily split but far apart at 112x, and the secondary dim enough not to show much color); Epsilon Lyrae (cleanly split at 112x; one component similar to Zeta Aquarii); Eta Cassiopeiae (nice color contrast); M2 (cute but at 112x maybe just one star on the edge of being resolved; this is an object for the big dob).

IC349, Merope (August 26, 2011)

2011-08-29T11:08:00.003-05:00

The little clump of gas just to the right of the bright star Merope (and below the diffraction spike) is being pushed away and scattered by the star's intense ultraviolet radiation. Merope is one of the Pleiades (or Subaru, or Seven Sisters, or the stars in M45 in Messier's list). The clump of gas that is IC349 is lit up because it reflects the light of Merope. The broader nebulosity around the star is also a reflection of Merope's light. My favorite image of IC349 is Roland Christian's, here.

Telescope: Orion 10" f/4.7 Newtonian & Baader RCC1
Camera & Exposure: SXVF-H9C, 3x10'
Filter: Astronomik IDAS-LPS2
Guiding: SX Lodestar and SX OAG
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

NGC 891 (August 26, 2011)

2011-08-28T19:17:00.004-05:00

This galaxy in Andromeda is interesting primarily because we see it nearly edge-on. The combined light of the stars across the disk make the galaxy bright to us, and the dust lane cutting through the disk is prominent. NGC 891 is between 14 and 41.1 million light years away, though most non-redshift estimates cluster around 32-39 million light years. My favorite image of this object is Adam Block's (here).

Telescope: Orion 10" f/4.7 Newtonian & Baader RCC1
Camera & Exposure: SXVF-H9C, 16x10'
Filter: Astronomik IDAS-LPS2
Guiding: SX Lodestar and SX OAG
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

Another M27, still not perfect (8-4-2011)

2011-08-05T14:16:00.004-05:00

Here's yet another M27. It looks fine except for a small amount of guiding error. It's been a while since I have guided through the 10", and I was very tired, so I worked with the guiding for a while. About the time I solved the problem (or came to believe I had solved it---everything was finally working well), the sky clouded over. By that time, I had 88 minutes of M27, most of it showing slight signs of the guiding problem.

Telescope: Orion 10" f/4.7 Newtonian & Baader RCC1
Camera & Exposure: SXVF-H9C, 11x8'
Filter: Astronomik IDAS-LPS2
Guiding: SX Lodestar and SX OAG
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

NGC7331 & "Companions" (7-30-2011)

2011-08-01T22:22:00.006-05:00

This is NGC7331, a galaxy found in the constellation Pegasus. NGC 7331 is between 21 and 52 million light years away. The center of the galaxy is very bright; it can be seen with moderate-sized telescopes from the backyard. I have seen it in an 8" reflector from my backyard. I've always wanted a good image of it, though. I took a minimal monochrome image of it two years ago that actually is a little deeper than this one (here), but this one was color and actually is about twice the exposure time at the same focal ration (f/5). The small galaxies around NGC 7331 are sometimes called the Deer Lick group. They are much further away--perhaps 300 million light years, very roughly (I overstated this distance in my earlier post).

This is still not the image I am hoping to take. I'd like to use a longer focal length. Maybe soon. This group of galaxies in in season. My favorite image of this group is Ken Crawford's, here.

Telescope: Orion 6" Imaging Newtonian & no coma corrector
Camera & Exposure: SXVF-H9C, 26x7'
Filter: Astronomik IDAS-LPS2
Guiding: Borg 50mm, Meade DSI Pro, PHD
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

M27, H-alpha & color (July 2011)

2011-07-28T23:11:00.001-05:00

This image is just 16 minutes (2x8') of H-alpha, taken with the Atik 16, combined with 160 minutes (20x6') of color from the SXVF-H9C. The Orion ST120 was used to take the H-alpha, and the SV80ED the color. The stacked H-alpha and color frames were then registered in Registax and combined in Photoshop.

Cocoon Nebula, IC 5146, SH2-125, Caldwell 19 (July 22 & 23, 2011)

2011-07-27T21:35:00.004-05:00

This intriguing object features both emission nebula (red) and reflection nebula (blue or gray-brown). The cluster of stars in the nebula is very young, and is just pushing the gas away from itself with ultraviolet light. The blue-white stars' light is also reflected on the gas, but you may have to turn out the lights to see it. The reflection nebula here is close in color to the light pollution near my house, and in order to control the light pollution I had to tone down the blue. Most estimates put the Cocoon Nebula at about 4,000 light years.

Telescope: Stellarvue 80ED NHNG f/7 w/WO ff/fr 0.8 II (so effectively at f/5.6)
Camera & Exposure: SXVF-H9C, 56x8'
Filter: Astronomik IDAS-LPS2
Guiding: Borg 50mm, Meade DSI Pro, PHD
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

IC1318B, near Sadr (7-1-2011)

2011-07-11T21:43:00.001-05:00

This is another section of the nebula near Gamma Cygni, or Sadr. I was looking for a last target before sunrise and was able to collect 72 minutes of decent data.

Telescope: Orion 120ST f/5 Achromat w/WO ff/fr 0.8 II (so effectively at f/4)
Camera & Exposure: Atik 16, 9x8'
Filter: Astronomik Profi 6nm H-alpha
Guiding: Borg 50mm, Meade DSI Pro, PHD
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

NGC 7000, Texas and Mexico from the North America Nebula (7-7-2011)

2011-07-09T23:20:00.005-05:00

This image was taken between 3 and 5:30 am. Water vapor was gathering in the sky, and thin clouds of it passed overhead while I was taking the seventeen sub-frames that make up this picture. As a result, every frame's histogram was unique. Notwithstanding, the colors turned out ok, and there is enough light here to post (especially in a smaller format), though I'd prefer a deeper image. This is my second image with the SV80ED.

Telescope: Stellarvue 80ED NHNG (SV80ED) f/7 w/WO ff/fr 0.8 II (so effectively at f/5.6)
Camera & Exposure: SXVF-H9C, 17x8'
Filter: Astronomik IDAS-LPS2
Guiding: Borg 50mm, Meade DSI Pro, PHD
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

M17, first light with the SV80ED (July 7, 2011)

2011-07-09T11:31:00.008-05:00

Here is the bright nebula M17. This is my first image of it and first light with the SV80ED.

Telescope: Stellarvue 80ED NHNG f/7 w/WO ff/fr 0.8 II (so effectively at f/5.6)
Camera & Exposure: SXVF-H9C, 18x8'
Filter: Astronomik IDAS-LPS2
Guiding: Borg 50mm, Meade DSI Pro, PHD
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

First Light, Stellarvue SV80ED NGNH Deluxe (7-7-2011)

2011-07-09T11:24:00.002-05:00

I have never owned a Stellarvue scope before, but this beautiful instrument was offered used about a month ago. It came standard with a Feathertouch focuser that I can use on most of my other scopes. And my electric Feathertouch can be swapped in easily on this scope. Plus, the SV has a lovely blue finish. Of course, the sine qua non of a good telescope is the glass. The scope performed admirably in its first photograph test! I've been looking for a scope to carry out of doors. This scope is an excellent fit for me. I'm looking forward to using it for many years.

To see images I have taken with the SV80ED, search for "SV80ED" in the box at upper left.

NGC 6559, the other end of the Lagoon (7-1-2011)

2011-07-05T20:14:00.002-05:00

Visually, this nebula does not appear to be linked to the Lagoon, but in deeper images the connection is pretty obvious. This is more or less the other end of the same cloud. Anyway, I like it for the nobbiness, the brighter slice of glowing gas at left, and the prominent dark river.

Telescope: Orion 120ST f/5 Achromat w/WO ff/fr 0.8 II (so effectively at f/4)
Camera & Exposure: Atik 16, 10x8'
Filter: Astronomik Profi 6nm H-alpha
Guiding: Borg 50mm, Meade DSI Pro, PHD
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

M8, the Lagoon, in H-alpha

2011-07-04T23:24:00.001-05:00

This popular target in Sagittarius shines primarily in the glow of ionized hydrogen. I've seen many versions of this nebula with similar filters and always wanted to try it. Compare it to my first M8, here, four years ago. M8 is nearly in our line of sight as we look at the center of the Milky Way galaxy.

Telescope: Orion 120ST f/5 Achromat w/WO ff/fr 0.8 II (so effectively at f/4)
Camera & Exposure: Atik 16, 10x8'
Filter: Astronomik Profi 6nm H-alpha
Guiding: Borg 50mm, Meade DSI Pro, PHD
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

M27, Why the Dumbbell Nebula Is Partly Red (6-30-2011)

2011-07-02T21:03:00.000-05:00

Of course, M27 is also blue, but that wouldn't show up through this H-alpha filter. H-alpha radiation, which falls in the red part of the spectrum, shines very brightly from this planetary nebula. This image is only 16 minutes of exposure, just two subframes. Note the spikes coming from the lemon. Longer exposures show more structure outside of what is here. I was testing, however. I'd like to return to this object with the 10" Newt.

Telescope: Orion 120ST f/5 Achromat w/WO ff/fr 0.8 II (so effectively at f/4)
Camera & Exposure: Atik 16, 2x8'
Filter: Astronomik Profi 6nm H-alpha
Guiding: Borg 50mm, Meade DSI Pro, PHD
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

The Eastern Veil, NGC 6992/95, 6-30-2011

2011-07-02T20:36:00.001-05:00

The Veil Nebula complex in Cygnus is so large that I can only get a part of a segment in the field of view of the Atik 16. But this is one of the better parts!

Telescope: Orion 120ST f/5 Achromat w/WO ff/fr 0.8 II (so effectively at f/4)
Camera & Exposure: Atik 16, 20x8'
Filter: Astronomik Profi 6nm H-alpha
Guiding: Borg 50mm, Meade DSI Pro, PHD
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

IC1318A, near Sadr (6-30-2011)

2011-07-02T18:11:00.002-05:00

This brighter part of the emission nebula surrounding the star Sadr in Cygnus is a new one for me.

Telescope: Orion 120ST f/5 Achromat w/WO ff/fr 0.8 II (so effectively at f/4)

Camera & Exposure: Atik 16, 16x8'

Filter: Astronomik Profi 6nm H-alpha

Guiding: Borg 50mm, Meade DSI Pro, PHD

Mount: Takahashi NJP

Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3

Location: The Woodlands, TX

Tulip Nebula, Sh2-101 (6-1-2011)

2011-06-05T21:46:00.001-05:00

This nebula is a brighter part of a larger field of glowing gas and dust in the constellation Cygnus. I was able to catch this nebula as it came out of the neighbor's pine tree and take exposures until around 5 am. The NJP tracked right through the meridian. The cloud of which this nebula is part contains a great deal more interesting material, as any wide field image will show. I would like to go back for more. My favorite version of the Tulip Nebula is from Neil Fleming.

Telescope: Orion 120ST f/5 Achromat w/WO ff/fr 0.8 II (so effectively at f/4)
Camera & Exposure: Atik 16, 31x8'
Filter: Astronomik Profi 6nm H-alpha
Guiding: Borg 50mm, Meade DSI Pro, PHD
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

Trifid Nebula, M20 (6-3-2011)

2011-06-04T15:19:00.002-05:00

In order to obtain an image of this nebula, which sits in the southern part of the sky near the center of the Milky Way, I have to begin exposures just as the nebula emerges from one neighbor's pine tree and continue until the nebula falls into another neighbor's palm tree. That's what I did last night. I literally saw the last pine bough disappear from the "frame and focus" shot a few minutes before beginning actual exposures. This was really fun, actually.

Telescope: Orion 120ST f/5 Achromat w/WO ff/fr 0.8 II (so effectively at f/4)
Camera & Exposure: Atik 16, 16x8'
Filter: Astronomik Profi 6nm H-alpha
Guiding: Borg 50mm, Meade DSI Pro, PHD
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

The Cocoon Nebula, IC 5146/Sh2-125 (6-3-2011)

2011-06-04T14:25:00.001-05:00

This nebula was just in the right place this morning for the two hours of darkness I had left. This narrowband H-alpha image shows the emission part of the nebula. Though the image is monochrome, this part of the spectrum is visible as red light. In full spectrum images, reflected starlight also shows in blue on the dust and gas of this stellar nursery.

Telescope: Orion 120ST f/5 Achromat w/WO ff/fr 0.8x II (so effectively at f/4)
Camera & Exposure: Atik 16, 15x8'
Filter: Astronomik Profi 6nm H-alpha
Guiding: Borg 50mm, Meade DSI Pro, PHD
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

NGC 1275 - Hubble Legacy Archive

2011-05-28T19:41:00.001-05:00

One of the most interesting galaxies in the sky is NGC 1275. It lies near the heart of a supercluster of galaxies in the constellation Perseus, and is roughly 230 million light years away. Obviously, something is happening here. I have read that one mass in front is moving toward a large galaxy behind but has not reached it yet. The chaotic spewing (in red) of glowing hydogen and nitrogen comes from the large galaxy behind, but the spewing's origin and energy is something of a mystery.

At that great distance, it's difficult to get much detail with an amateur scope. I've tried and will try again to catch the filaments or the dark parts of the galaxy image. But this Hubble data is freely available from the Hubble Legacy Archive (linked at right). It's relatively easy, and kind of fun, to download and process. Here is my version for now.

The Very Red Stars of M13 (5-27-2011)

2011-05-28T18:33:00.000-05:00

Last night I set up to image in H-alpha. While waiting for my intended target to clear the trees, I took 4x8' of M13 in H-alpha. This monochrome image records only a very narrow band of the deep red part of the spectrum. I had no idea M13 was so red. Half of the galaxy NGC 6207 can be seen in the upper right. It, too, is apparently very red.

The camera was the Atik 16 and the filter is an Astronomik 6nm Profi H-alpha. It is installed right next to the camera chip. This image was taken with the Orion ST120 w/WO 0.8 ff/fr II, at f/4.

In Praise of the Newtonian - First Light with the 6" f/8

2011-05-15T23:15:00.001-05:00

Last night for the first time I took the newly finished 6" f/8 out for a spin in the backyard.

This began as a project scope. Here is a picture of what I started with: a Meade 6" f/8 set of optics, tube, spider, and primary mirror holder. The tube was pretty beat up and full of holes. I took these pictures when I was testing an added focuser.

My idea was to fix up the tube and use this for a visual scope. After I took these pictures, I dissassembled the scope and put the optics and other parts in a box for safekeeping.

Then I began work on the tube. I first of all sanded it down and filled all the holes with wood putty. Then I added two coats of shellac. This took a long time to dry, and it smelled terrible, but shellac sealed the tube and hardened it. Of course, it also made the tube shiny. Shellac is pretty high gloss.

That's ok. On the inside, I installed flocking from Scopestuff. Here is the inside of the scope half-flocked. The improvement is pretty obvious compared with the shellac, but the flocking is much better even than the flat black paint that was there before.

After flocking the tube, I sealed the ends and remaining holes and spray-painted several coats of oil-based blue metallic paint, followed by a high gloss sealer. The tube shines blue now. I also built some tube rings of pine, painted flat black, and installed them around grey foam rubber.

The tube looks great, now.

And after all that, how are the views? Superb! Best views of Saturn I have ever seen. Admitted, I am not a planet guy, but at 240x everything snapped to. In moments of clear seeing, I could see the sharp black line of the ring's shadow on the planet's face, the dark cloud band opposite the rings (and the texture and shape of the cloud band), three moons clearly (Titan, Dione, and Rhea), and maybe four (I was not sure what that was, though I did see something where Tethys was, just coming around the pole of the planet). I missed Enceladus, but our own moon was just a few degrees away, washing out the sky. The whole thing looked just like the photos, only snappier, three-dimensional, and more real. Bravo! I look forward to many nights with this scope, viewing for myself and showing the view to others at public star parties.

M106, a Target for Next Year (4-27-2011)

2011-05-14T12:51:00.000-05:00

I tried twice to capture this galaxy this year. On my first outing in January I had guiding problems. I had better success in April. The galaxy's outer arms are very faint, and I'll need a lot more time to get through the light pollution. This is just 13x10' from The Woodlands.

Telescope: Orion 10" f/4.7 Newtonian
Camera & Exposure: SXVF-H9C, 13x10'
Coma Corrector: Baader RCC I
Filter: IDAS-LPS2
Guiding: Orion Deluxe OAG, Meade DSI Pro, PHD
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

NGC 6910 (5-3-2011)

2011-05-05T22:50:00.002-05:00

This lovely cluster illustrates the work I did on the telescope two days ago. Previously, my stars were out of round, and I wasn't sure why. I made three changes that day: (1) I squared the focuser with the tube. This is something I should have done earlier. (2) I flocked the tube across from the focuser. I was worried that light from the back of the secondary mirror was bouncing around inside the tube. That will stop it. (3) I blackened the back and sides of the secondary mirror with flat black paint. I had an epiphany after I flocked the tube. I looked down the eyepiece tube and saw ... the reflection off the side of the secondary, shining brightly right into the eyepiece. I immediately knew the source of my out-of-round stars. Time to get out the paint. Now the stars are round. They are beautiful. The scope is doing what it's supposed to do now.

This picturesque cluster is just north of Sadr, or Gamma Cygni. I was going to image something else, in the south, but my guiding was off because cables were catching on the mount. Anyway, it was about 4 am, and I was too tired to diagnose the problem (I figured it out the next morning). So, I thought, I'll try something near the zenith that I can actually catch in an hour. An open cluster! Sure. Well, I caught the cluster, but this cluster is surrounded by nebulosity (of course, next to Sadr). The time was too short to catch much of the nebulosity. I guess an hour was too short. I don't make my best decisions at 4 am.

Telescope: Orion 10" f/4.7 Newtonian
Camera & Exposure: SXVF-H9C, 13x5'
Coma Corrector: Baader RCC I
Filter: IDAS-LPS2
Guiding: Orion Deluxe OAG, Meade DSI Pro, PHD
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

Here is a small gray-scale showing some of the nebulosity.

M101 (5-3-2011)

2011-05-05T20:15:00.004-05:00

I've imaged this mammoth galaxy before, here. But at only, roughly, 23 million light years away and stretching approximately 170,000 light years from side to side, this face-on spiral giant is always a welcome sight. This is partly why I wanted to use the 10": the scope is big enough to hint at galactic details. M101 is always a challenging target, though. The dynamic range is massive. The galaxy in fact has other spiral arms that I have not pictured here. Because the image was taken from the suburbs, light pollution washes out the fainter parts. Just for comparison, I have included below a version with the light pollution left in. Also, this is just 14x10', not enough time to pick up these fainter portions even if I was at a darker site. Even my earlier image of M101 is a bit deeper. It was over 50% longer exposure time from the same site with the same camera at about the same focal ratio.

Telescope: Orion 10" f/4.7 Newtonian
Camera & Exposure: SXVF-H9C, 14x10'
Coma Corrector: Baader RCC I
Filter: IDAS-LPS2
Guiding: Orion Deluxe OAG, Meade DSI Pro, PHD
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

Deep in the Lagoon Nebula, M8 (4-27-2011)

2011-05-01T12:11:00.003-05:00

This is the most interesting part of the Lagoon Nebula, M8, in Sagittarius. The Lagoon Nebula is a large cloud of mostly hydrogen located almost between us and the center of the Milky Way. It probably lies between 2,700 and 6,000 lights years away. The cloud shines with the light of ionized gas excited by the bright young stars that have formed out of the nebula itself. I caught the scene above just as it came out of the trees and collected sub-exposures almost until the nebula moved behind the trees.

Telescope: Orion 10" f/4.7 Newtonian
Camera & Exposure: SXVF-H9C, 17x5'
Coma Corrector: Baader RCC I
Filter: IDAS-LPS2
Guiding: Orion Deluxe OAG, Meade DSI Pro, PHD
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

NGC 4565 (April 11, 2011)

2011-04-13T08:11:00.005-05:00

This interesting galaxy is a popular target for imagers because we see it nearly edge-on. The roundish central bulge and the prominent dust lanes are interesting features, and the galaxy is relatively bright because we see it from the side---the combined light of stars across the galactic plane. NGC 4565 is between 34 and 72 million light years away. Several distance estimates cluster around 40 million light years. The galaxy is also the most prominent member of a small group of galaxies clustered in its area. My favorite image of this galaxy is Stan Moore's, here; it was not taken from the city, as mine was.

Telescope: Orion 10" f/4.7 Newtonian
Camera & Exposure: SXVF-H9C, 35x10'
Coma Corrector: Baader RCC I
Filter: IDAS-LPS2
Guiding: Orion Deluxe OAG, Meade DSI Pro, PHD
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: The Woodlands, TX

M63 or NGC 5055 (4-5-11)

2011-04-07T11:25:00.002-05:00

This lovely galaxy lies between 23 and 34 million light years away in the constellation Canes Venatici. At this distance, it is a close neighbor (for a galaxy) of M51. I've always been fascinated with this galaxy because images show the relatively straight dark lane cutting through what is in this image the lower part of the galaxy. I've always suspected that a smaller galaxy was combining with this one. I suspected this even more strongly when I saw in some images a ribbon of light in the same line as the dark lane that was clearly part of this system but was located somewhat away from the galaxy. I can see this feature in my data, but it was too faint and noisy to leave in the color version. Here is a version of my data in black and white, inverted, with contrast maximized. You can see the ribbon of light on the bottom right under the second-brightest star in the image. There may be a faint line of light stretching from the dark lane to the ribbon.

After seeing this in others' images, I strongly suspected there was more to the story, so I was pleased when Jay GaBany and others produced this very deep image (here) of the galaxy showing loops and streamers all around it from smaller galaxies falling into the larger one.

Telescope: Orion 10" f/4.7 Newtonian

Camera & Exposure: SXVF-H9C, 27x10'

Coma Corrector: Baader RCC I

Filter: IDAS-LPS2

Guiding: Orion Deluxe OAG, Meade DSI Pro, PHD

Mount: Takahashi NJP

Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3

Location: The Woodlands, TX

Full Moon, March 19, 2011

2011-03-20T22:39:00.007-05:00

The full moon this month looked very large because it was at perigee. Lots of folks took pictures of it. Here is mine. The moon was just past full, at about 99%. That's the Sam Houston State Observatory north of Huntsville, TX, in the foreground.

I brought Bigfoot to the observatory, and Rory Glasgow had the great idea of projecting that big moon on a white surface, so he held up the back of a star chart, and we snapped an 8-second image with my Canon 400D at ISO 800. The projection of the moon on Rory (along with Rory's fine lunar images) is posted here. The image was mentioned on the front page at Spaceweather.com, here.

Camping at the Dark Sky Site (3-14-2011)

2011-03-17T21:44:00.005-05:00

This week was Spring Break in Texas, so Monday night I took my boys camping at the Houston Astronomical Society dark sky site. I'd never been, and the moon would be about 60% full, so rather than try to set up for imaging, I decided to take Bigfoot, the 15" dob. We had a great time (Bigfoot, the boys, and I), and I learned several things I'd like to share:

1. Seeing matters to the big dob! A few weeks ago, I saw Sirius B clearly through the dob at 380x. I tried on this night early on, and at 190x Sirius would not even focus clearly. Seeing was lousy. In fact, anything over 80x was mush. Saturn just rising over the trees had a moon, Titan. There may have been others. As the night continued, seeing improved. By midnight, Saturn had four moons, but they'd twinkle in and out. By 6 am, Saturn had five moons (that were obvious to me without a chart), and they were clear as a bell. After midnight, when seeing had improved, I learned these other things:
2. The Telrad needs dew protection. It's harder to find things when the Telrad is dewed up. Bigfoot has no finderscope. I will build a dew shield.

3. NGC 2477 in Puppis is the most awesome open cluster! I used to think M37 was the best view. M37 must now yield. Images (and I have one of M37 myself) do neither cluster justice.

4. For starhopping with a big dob, Uranometria is pretty ideal. Sitting on the ladder with a red flashlight and a volume of Uranometria on my lap is slightly awkward, but the scale is easy with a big eyepiece on a 15" f/5 dob.

5. The Meade Series 5000 28mm SWA is a fine eyepiece. It gives a nice view in the f/5 dob. There is some distortion around the outer quarter of the view, but it is not distracting. Eye relief is enough for this eyeglass wearer. I could basically forget the eyepiece and observe. No coma corrector that night.

6. Only about two members of Markarian's Chain fit in my field of view at a time. I was just browsing around the field, not looking at charts, and found four members in a row before I realized what I was looking at.

7. M13 doesn't hold a candle to Omega Centauri! I have never seen so many stars stuffed into one place. There is hardly space between them! I flipped over to M13 quickly just to compare. Nope, no comparison at all. Actually NGC 3201 is also a better view than M13. Though dimmer, it is bigger and more impressive.

8. There is nothing like a dark sky. The moon went down around 3:30. I got up again at 5:45 for the final 45 minutes of darkness. Wow! It's been too long since I've seen the bar of the Milky Way dominate the sky like that. Under that kind of sky and with that size of scope, one gets lost in Sagittarius. Everything is interesting, and there is a hint of light, either stars or nebulosity, almost everywhere. Amazing!

Those are the primary lessons learned. I also starhopped to M85 and M64 for the first time. I'm still working through a Messier list (it's taken me 32 years so far; I have three or four left).

For those of you still reading, I also caught a nice conjunction of Jupiter and Mercury in the evening sky. They had evened up the next night, but on Monday night Jupiter on the left was still higher. Here's the image. Please click for the full size:

M51 Alternate

2011-03-13T15:45:00.002-05:00

M51 (3-11-2011)

2011-03-12T23:47:00.004-06:00

M51 is such a beauty, and so interesting. It's a favorite target for imagers. This is 105x150" with the 10" f/4.7 newt, Baader MPCC, IDAS-LPS-P2 filter, and SXVF-H9C camera. The subs were short both because they did not need to be any longer (the histogram was moved well off of the left side) and because I have not sorted out all the flex in this system and that's as long as they could be without using the off-axis guider. I still have not figured out how to make the OAG hold the weight of the camera, so I was using a guidescope. I threw out only three subs. This image is probably about what I can do from the burbs, at least in one night. I've taken a couple of images of this galaxy before, when I knew less of what I am doing.

IC 443 in Color (2-28-2011 added)

2011-03-08T22:40:00.005-06:00

Here is the earlier H-a data combined with 16x7' through the 6" I-newt and an IDAS-LPS-P2 and Baader MPCC, with the SXVF-H9C.

NGC 2683 (2-28 & 3-1-2011)

2011-03-07T21:51:00.005-06:00

This lovely galaxy, found in the constellation Lynx, lies several million (more than 15 but less than 40 million, based on several studies) light years away. This image is 34x7' through the 6" I-newt and an IDAS-LPS-P2 and Baader MPCC, with the SXVF-H9C. Data was collected from the backyard.

IC 447 and some light pollution (3-1-2011)

2011-03-07T20:50:00.006-06:00

IC447 is in the constellation Monoceros. It is a beautiful nebula, even from the burbs. This image is 13x7' through the 6" I-newt and an IDAS-LPS-P2 and Baader MPCC, with the SXVF-H9C. Of course, the image could use more time, and what it could really use is time with a scope and camera away from city lights, but I'm glad to catch the nebula, nonetheless.

The Companion of Sirius (3-5-2011)

2011-03-06T21:44:00.003-06:00

Tonight I saw the companion of Sirius for the first time. Sirius is the brightest star in the sky (partly because it is only 8.6 light years away). It is a double star, and the dim companion is a white dwarf, the second white dwarf star ever discovered. The white dwarf has about the mass of the sun but is about the size of the earth. The dwarf star does not appear that close to Sirius, but the brighter star overwhelms its companion. In the 15" dob, however, at 380x, all that became academic. There was the dim companion, shining clearly outside the glare of the primary star! I'd never seen it in many years of observing. I've never had a scope that would show it. The eyepiece used was a 5mm Vixen Lanthanum.

M66 (2-28-2011)

2011-03-04T09:19:00.005-06:00

This galaxy is about 36 million light years away in the constellation Leo. This image is 22x7' with the 6" I-newt, IDAS-LPS-P2, Baader MPCC, and SXVF-H9C. I was going to go back the next night for more time, but, against the prediction of every weather report, clouds set in. Just for kicks, please see the image I took of M66 in March 2007 (linked here). It was my first astrophoto. I was thrilled.

M35 (2-28-2011)

2011-03-03T21:57:00.004-06:00

This cluster is about 2,800 light years away in the constellation Gemini. It's sort of a showpiece in the 15" dob. This image was taken with the 6" I-newt, the SXVF-H9C, the Baader MPCC, and the IDAS-LPS-P2 filter. It is 26x2'.

A Combined Horsehead (3-2-2011)

2011-03-02T22:25:00.003-06:00

This is the combined data from the two newts, the Ha taken with the Atik 16 through the 10", and the color data taken with the SXVF-H9C through the 6".

A Brief Horsehead Nebula (3-1-2011)

2011-03-02T21:30:00.005-06:00

I'm liking this setup. This image was taken with the Orion 6" f/5 imaging newt, Baader MPCC, IDAS-LPS-P2 vfilter, and SXVF-H9C camera, from the backyard. This is just 7x7', so I'm well short of an hour (my neighbor has this tree, you see). Anyway, it's very impressive what this relatively little scope (at least it looks little on the NJP) will pick up in 49 minutes.

New Scope!

2011-02-20T17:30:00.007-06:00

A few weeks ago I saw advertised locally a Discovery Telescopes 15" f/5 dobsonian. I have always been a bit sad not to see here in Houston the kind of used market that exists in the northeast US or in California. Each time a good-sized dob has come up here, it has been out of my price range (too fancy a scope, or too many accessories). But good things come to those who wait. This time it was just the scope, and the price was doable! When I saw the ad, I was sitting at the table in the kitchen running an imaging session in the backyard. I almost did not think. I just fired off a reply: "How can I pass this up? Is it still available?" Then, lest that one wasn't clear enough, I sent another: "The truth is, I will gladly take the scope off your hands. I can pick it up tomorrow or Saturday." I heard back the next morning, then drove the Suburban in to work instead of my small car.

Wow! This scope is big! It's very nicely thought out. The movements are very smooth, and the box seems sturdy and holds the scope well. The handles and wheels are very convenient. The focuser is nice. The Telrad is aimed aright. When I found that the Telrad batteries had juice left, I figured the scope had been cared for. In fact, it is in excellent condition, a testament to the care of its first and only other owner.

The optics appear first-rate! I was going to wheel it out right when I got home, but I found I couldn't get it out the back door! Whoops! (I had no idea the back door was too narrow. Now I have to figure some other way to get it into the backyard: around the side, probably, but I'll have to change the landscaping.) The next night I asked one of my daughters to carry the lighter end out.

Wow! First up was Luna, for the kids. Everyone came to have a look through Dad's new scope. The moon was high overhead, so everyone had to stand on something to reach the eyepiece. The moon was stunning. It's the view just as you approach the orb for a landing!

Next was M42. My daughter asked, "What's all that green glowing stuff?" I though I saw green and brown, and perhaps blue and pink, but I am biased by seeing too many published images. I will say, though, that I could see the E and F stars of the Trapezium with wide space between them and the other stars. It's a view I won't forget. I'm anxious to go back with a better eyepiece and more time and see what else I can tease out.

It was time to invite my neighbor (who keeps his lights off for me, thank you) to share the happiness, so I went next door and asked if he wanted to see. For the next half-hour we scanned through the real estate south of Orion. My favorite here is NGC 2362. It is awesome in the big scope! My first visual on this cluster was in 1994 through 80mm binoculars. It was so small, but very nice. Through the big scope, the cluster is stunning. The contrast between the central star and all her attendants is just enhanced. We also looked at M41, Sigma Orionis, and Rigel. Then family duties called, my neighbor helped me carry the scope in, and I wheeled it back to its storage area.

What a great first light! Figures it would cloud up after that and stay cloudy. The forecast today shows nothing but clouds for a week. It's ok, though. The memory will carry through. I look forward to many happy hours and years with this fine instrument.

IC 2162 (2-11-2011) (with a defect)

2011-02-13T17:04:00.005-06:00

This nebula in the constellation Orion is one of those places in our galaxy where stars are forming from gas and dust clouds. Energy from those young stars is caught up by gas molecules in the clouds and then is released in the form of light. The gas around the stars literally glows. Much of the gas is hydrogen.

Light at a wavelength of 656.28 nm is emitted by a hydrogen atom when the electron in the atom moves from one energy level (the third) down one (to the second). This kind of radiation is called H-alpha. What we call an H-alpha filter is a piece of glass with coatings on it that let just a few wavelengths of light through. In daylight, the filter looks like a mirror. The swath of spectrum the H-alpha filter lets through is just a few nanometers wide and is centered on the 656.28nm wavelength, to the exclusion of all others. Nearly all light pollution is excluded, as a result. So the filter allows one to take fairly detailed images of objects deep in space even from suburban backyards. This image is 12x10' through the 10" newt, Baader MPCC, and 12nm Astronomik H-alpha filter, with the Atik 16.

After looking at this image for some time, and examining others' images of this object, I've concluded that the red on the right side of the image is spurious, a system artifact. The off-axis guider had loosened slightly, so that side of the camera was slightly further away from the primary mirror than the rest of the system. The effect was to introduce noise in that half of the image. I have noticed this also in another image I took later that session. I may be able to extract the noise through processing, but I haven't had time to work on it yet. I'm keeping the image up, either way, but please note that fact.

Horsehead Nebula (2-11-2011) & the 10" Newt

2011-02-13T16:51:00.005-06:00

This image is the product of everything working right for an hour before the nebula ducked behind my neighbor's tree. This is 6x10' through the 10" Newt, with the Atik 16 through a Baader MPCC and Astronomik 12nm Ha [+NII] filter. The scope was autoguided off-axis.

The scope was working here the way I hope it will always work. The off-axis mirror is in front of the Ha filter but behind the Baader MPCC. The scope was collimated well. I think I have the scope balanced well on the mount. The FT focuser works like a charm. Everything was operated from inside the house using a long USB extender and wireless controls for the focuser.

Abell 21 or PK 205+14.1 or Sharpless 2-274 or the Medusa Nebula (2-7-2011)

2011-02-12T12:15:00.004-06:00

This planetary nebula is about 1,500 light years away in the constellation Gemini. It's older than many planetaries and is colliding with interstellar matter. That gives it the dramatic look. My favorite image of this critter is Bob Franke's.

This image is 36x7' (4.2 hours) through an Astronomik 12nm Ha [+NII] filter with the Atik 16 and Orion 120mm + WO 0.8x II ff/fr = f/4 achromat.

Here's a colorized version.

Abell 31 or PK219+31.1, OIII Added

2011-02-06T21:54:00.003-06:00

With OIII added, Abell 31 looks something like this. The OIII is very faint. Even with 18x7' (126 minutes) of exposure through the Atik 16, stacked, the OIII was very dim. I stretched the data as much as I could. The Atik 16 is not nearly as sensitive to OIII as it is to Ha. Here is a version with less brightness:

IC 443, the Jellyfish Nebula (2-4-2011)

2011-02-06T16:10:00.007-06:00

This nebula is the remnant of a supernova. The nebula and the neutron star that is left after the supernova occurred (neutron star not pictured here) are located about 5,000 light years away in the constellation Gemini. The nebula is well-studied, and some facts about it are reported here with a nice image of the area. The Wikipedia entry for IC 443 is interesting and appears (as of this posting) to be well-documented. This image is 23x7' with the Atik 16.

Abell 13 or PK 204-8.1 (2-4-2011)

2011-02-06T14:40:00.005-06:00

This interesting planetary nebula in Orion shines brightest by far in Ha [or NII]. This is 10x7' through an Astronomik Ha [+NII] filter.

Abell 33 or PK 238+34.1 (2-4-2011)

2011-02-05T23:38:00.004-06:00

Abell 33 is a fine planetary nebula in the constellation Hydra. This is just 9x7' through an Astronomik 12nm OIII filter with the Atik 16 and 120mm achromat + WO 0.8x II ff/fr = astrograph.

NGC 2174, the Monkey Head Nebula (1-2011)

2011-01-30T21:38:00.004-06:00

I was able to take OIII subs this week. Combined with the Ha and mapped to more or less natural color, the nebula now looks like this. The OIII subs were 24x7' taken with the Atik 16 through the 120mm + WO 0.8x II ff/fr = f/4 achromat and Astronomik Ha [+NII] and OIII filters. Here is the OIII data:

Abell 5 or PK 141-7.1 (1-25-2011)

2011-01-26T11:40:00.008-06:00

This rather dim planetary nebula in the constellation Perseus was right overhead when I began a set of 17x7" sub-exposures with the 120mm + WO 0.8x II ff/fr = f/4 achromatic astrograph. Taken through an Astronomik 12nm Ha filter. The galaxy at upper left shining so brightly in Ha is PGC10824.

NGC 3193, 3190, and 3187 (1-1-2011)

2011-01-02T21:38:00.005-06:00

This is (at least) three of the galaxies in Hickson 44, a galaxy group in Leo (from the Hickson catalog). I have always thought this trio intriguing because of the different shapes shown (and also because it would fit in my small camera field). NGC 3193, upper left, is an elliptical galaxy that is nearly featureless. NGC 3190, by contrast, is a spiral galaxy that we see almost edge-on. It sports a prominent dust lane and smaller dust lanes branching off on the left. To the right of NGC 3190 is NGC 3187, also a spiral galaxy whose shape has been disrupted by other galaxies in the group, probably including NGC 3185, not pictured here. Most recent estimates put this group of galaxies about 80 million light years from us. Cite. My favorite image of the group is here.

This image was taken on my first night out with the Orion 10" newt. Camera was the Atik 16. An IDAS LPS2 filter was also used. The image is just 22x2'. The background is bright because I did not have enough signal yet (in just 44 minutes of exposure) from the galaxies to cut out skyglow noise.

PK219+31.1 or Abell 31 (12-26-2010)

2010-12-29T07:44:00.010-06:00

This planetary nebula in Cancer was discovered by George Abell on photographic plates in 1955. It is very dim. Folks with very large amateur telescopes and special filters have trouble seeing it with their eyes. The nebula is relatively nearby, just 1863 light years, give or take 80 or so. Citation. It appears to be interacting with interstellar matter (just my guess), which gives the left side a bow-front or bow-shock look, while the right side trails off; perhaps the nebula is relatively old or weak. Other images show a significant OIII glow near the center. The brightest star in this image, at lower right, is 8.51. A few stars are between 9 and 10, and all others are magnitude 10 or dimmer. The dimmest stars in the image are less than magnitude 17. Here are links to my favorite images of Abell 31: here and here. This image is 14x10' with the Atik 16.

Here is a view with color. In this edition, the nebula has been colored red, the natural color of the Ha emission recorded above. The stars have been left white.

NGC 2174, the Monkey Head Nebula (12-26-10)

2010-12-28T23:53:00.004-06:00

This is a better set of data than my first set on this object, which was slightly out of focus. This set is 14x8' with the Atik 16 through an Astronomik 12nm Ha filter and the Orion 120mm achromat w/WO 0.8x II ff/fr (f/4). Perhaps it's time to collect the other narrowband wavelengths.

Christmas Tree Cluster (12-23-2010)

2010-12-23T21:21:00.006-06:00

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Of course, there is a reason this cluster is called the Christmas Tree Cluster, NGC 2264. The nebula behind it might be called the Christmas Tree Nebula as well. The brighter parts of the nebula have the shape of a Christmas tree, probably as a result of radiation from cluster stars. Just above the top of the tree is the Cone Nebula. At the bottom left is a complicated web of gas often called the Fox Fur Nebula.

This image is, of course, just the one I took three weeks ago dressed up in Christmas colors (actually, the image is a monochrome image taken through a narrow slice of the deep red part of the spectrum). Enjoy the season!

IC417 (12-1-2010)

2010-12-10T13:25:00.002-06:00

IC 417 is a wonderfully complex hydrogen nebula in the constellation Auriga. So many different things to see here!

This image is just 9x8' with the Atik 16 through the Orion 120mm achromat with WO 0.8x II ff/fr (thus at f/4). Processing was done in Nebulosity, Maxim, and PS CS3.

M97 (11-30 and 12-1-2010)

2010-12-10T01:11:00.005-06:00

This planetary nebula in Ursa Major is, like all planetary nebulae, an expanding cloud of gas and dust sloughed off a dying star. The star, which you can see in the center of the nebula, is a white dwarf, the super-hot core of what is left of the dying star. The filters used to take this shot cover three wavelengths common to planetary nebulae: Ha, NII, and OIII. In fact, the Ha filter's bandwidth is 12nm wide, and it takes in the NII line. The consequence is that I can't tell whether the red glow in this image comes from hydrogen or nitrogen. The OIII line is far more prominent, however. Ionized oxygen seems to dominate this planetary. M97's distance (and thus its size) are the subject of wildly varying reports, so I have no idea how far away this thing is.

This image is 24x8' with the Astronomik Ha filter and 23x8' with the Astronomik OIII filter. The camera was the Atik 16, and the image was shot through the Orion 120mm achromat with the WO 0.8x II ff/fr, at f/4. Color was done with Cannistra's bi-color technique.

Here is the Ha [+ NII]:
Here is the OIII:

The Squall Line in the Rosette (12-1-2010)

2010-12-03T21:16:00.003-06:00

The Rosette Nebula is about 5,000 light years away in the constellation Monoceros. (In wider images, it really does look like a flower. See RoryG's recent image.) A long chain of nebulosity appears in very deep images to connect it to the Cone Nebula complex. (See Wolfgang Promper's image here.) This part of the Rosette Nebula is where clouds of dust and gas in front of all the lit-up ionized hydrogen clouds are silhouetted in the light. The clouds are slowly disintegrating in the ultraviolet radiation from the bright stars in the lower center of the image, the stars of cluster NGC 2244. Yet still tiny pockets of the dark stuff remain randomly ahead of the front, globs dust and gas perhaps shrinking under gravity and resisting the radiation scattering the rest of the matter around them.

This image is 17x8' with the Atik 16 through the Orion 120mm f/5 achromat, the WO 0.8x II ff/fr (so imaging at f/4), and an Astronomik Ha filter.

The Cone Nebula & NGC 2264 (11-30-2010)

2010-12-01T10:56:00.010-06:00

This beautiful area of the sky has no bright stars. Without optical aid, it looks empty from the burbs were I live. But with the light pollution extracted, and with a sensitive camera and a large lens to gather and focus the light, great things can be seen.

On the left of this image is the Cone Nebula, a dark cloud that is slowly disintegrating in the radiation generated by the bright stars to the right of it. The cluster of stars, known as NGC 2264, and the cloud of hydrogen gas shown here, can be found about 2,600 light years away. These objects, like the California Nebula, lie in the same arm of the galaxy that we inhabit.

This image is 18x8' with the Atik 16 through the Orion 120mm f/5 achromat and WO 0.8x II ff/fr (so the image was taken at f/4) and an Astronomk 12nm Ha filter.

This image was published in the April 2011 issue of Ciel Extrême, page 15. Thanks to the editor, Marc Cesarini. It's a great privilege.

Central California: NGC 1499 (11-30-2010)

2010-12-01T09:41:00.005-06:00

This is the central and most interesting (to me) region of NGC 1499, sometimes called the California Nebula. In moderately deep images, the nebula takes on a shape something like that of the state of California. In deeper images, the shape is more like a scimitar (see, e.g., this image from Don Taylor). This much narrower view only shows the Bay Area, the darker cloud in the middle of the image. The bright nebulosity running from upper left to lower center is the coastline. In this relatively deep image, the nebulosity runs into the ocean and out past the edge of the image. The California Nebula is about 1,500 light years away, and is found in the constellation Perseus. It inhabits the same arm of the galaxy that we do.

This image is 13x8' with the Atik 16 through the Orion 120mm f/5 achromat and WO 0.8x II ff/fr and an Astronomik 12nm Ha filter.

NGC 3198 (11-26-2010)

2010-11-29T19:23:00.003-06:00

This galaxy in southern Ursa Major is about 35,000,000 light years away. Normally, I present galaxies in white against a black background. In this case, the waning moon was still 66% full and only about 20 degrees away from this galaxy. That's not the best condition for shooting a galaxy. But the camera was running. I could turn it off and go to sleep, or let it run and go to sleep. I decided to let it run on this object. The resulting image is noisy and does not show well at all in white on black. It's much better this way, black on white, and more of the galaxy is visible.

This is 38x4' with the Atik 16 through the AT8RC and the IDAS-LPS-P2 from the backyard in The Woodlands, TX.

NGC 2392, the Eskimo Nebula (11-26-2010)

2010-11-27T21:12:00.004-06:00

This little fellow sits up in the sky, smiling and winking at us! It's cold in space, so he wears a parka!

This planetary nebula is famous for looking like an Eskimo. It's actually a bright nebula roughly 2870 light years away in the constellation Gemini. The Hubble has taken an image of this cloud, but beware: the Hubble's excellent resolution erases all resemblance to an Eskimo. Instead, the Hubble's is the Mummy Nebula.

This image was 25x4' taken with the Atik 16 through the AT8RC and an IDAS-LPS-P2.

IC 410 Tadpoles & Part of NGC 1893

2010-11-27T18:38:00.006-06:00

These tadpole-like structures are part of a cloud of hydrogen and other gases and dust in the constellation Auriga. A cluster of stars, dubbed NGC 1893, has formed from the cloud. Those stars can be found throughout the image but are centered in the upper right, where the brightest of them are found. The brightest stars of NGC 1893 radiate energy which is pushing the cloud of gas and dust away. But some of the cloud is thicker and may hide stars in formation whose gravity counteracts the radiation from the bright stars. Where this occurs, the gas and dust remains, and a shock front forms where the radiation meets the stubborn part of the nebula. Behind the edges of the shock front and trailing away, is the gas and dust pushed around and away, like a tail, from the stubborn gas and dust remaining in the head, giving the tadpole-like appearance.

This image is 32x4' with the Atik 16 through the AT8RC and an IDAS LPS-P2 filter. The 67% moon rose during the final sub-exposures. The stars here are slightly out of round. I believe it is the way the camera is attached to the focuser. Honestly, I wish focusers had T-threads. It'd be so much easier.

Helpful Lists

2010-11-24T16:55:00.003-06:00

Catalog of Parameters for Milky Way Globular Clusters

The Abell Planetaries

Planetary Nebula Image Catalog

NGC/IC Project

NGC 7662, the Blue Snowball Nebula (11-16-2010)

2010-11-21T15:24:00.005-06:00

I see varying reports of this planetary nebula's distance from us: 1800, 3900, and 5000 light years. I don't know how far it is, but it is fairly bright. This image was taken with the AT8RC at f/8 with the SXVF-H9C. It is 40x60".

NGC 457 (11-17-2010)

2010-11-20T15:31:00.002-06:00

NGC 457 is an open cluster of stars about 8,000 light years away in the constellation Cassiopeia. This image is 33x180" with the AT8RC at f/8, SXVF-H9C.

NGC 2419 (11-5&6-2010)

2010-11-09T14:13:00.006-06:00

NGC 2419 is a very distant globular cluster. It lies 300,000 light years away. If our galaxy were a frisbee, NGC 2419 would be at least two frisbee lengths beyond its edge! It was once thought to be free-floating in space, unconnected to any galaxy, but we now believe it is in orbit around our own Milky Way. NGC 2419 is the 5th most distant globular cluster from the sun. Source. The brightest stars in NGC 2419 are 17th magnitude.

This image is 28x5' with the AT8RC and the SXVF-H9C, from my backyard in The Woodlands. Actually, my last image of this was so fuzzy and faint that I have wanted to take another try. The prior image is posted here.

Here is a smaller version. Shrinking it a bit hides some of the noise and helps the star shapes in the cluster look more round:

NGC 1275 (11-5&6-10)

2010-11-09T11:08:00.004-06:00

This not-so-deep image of this fascinating object (the brightest galaxy, in the lower part and just left of center) leaves much for the imagination. Here is a brighter rendition, through a much larger scope with much longer exposure; in fact, the best rendition I know of by an amateur. The galaxy is thought to harbor an active black hole and is combining with a smaller galaxy, giving NGC 1275 its unusual shape and other characteristics.

The galaxy cluster is called Abell 426, also called the Perseus Cluster. This is just the heart of it. What you are seeing is approximately 237 (give or take about 30) million light years away.

This image is just 2.25 hours of 5' exposures with the AT8RC and the SXVF-H9C.

M37 (10-29-2010)

2010-11-03T22:55:00.015-05:00

This open cluster of stars is 4,150+-550 light years away in the constellation Auriga. It thus lies in the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy roughly looking out away from the galaxy's center. This image is 17x300" with the AT8RC (w/0.8x ff/fr, for a focal length of about 1300mm) and the SXVF-H9C. Here is a smaller version:

NGC 891 (10-29-2010)

2010-11-02T22:33:00.007-05:00

This galaxy is 30 million light years away in the constellation Andromeda. This is image is 36x300" with the SXVF-H9C through the AT8RC (w/0.8x ff/fr, at about 1300mm). Captured in Neb2 and processed in Neb2, Maxim, & PS3.

NGC281 (10-29-2010): A Few Short Subs

2010-11-01T06:10:00.005-05:00

This is just 4x300" with the AT8RC, 0.8x ff/fr, and the SXVF-H9C. The Pacman Nebula was high in the sky, and I wanted to test collimation, focus, exposure time, and tracking on something familiar. Generous noise reduction has been applied to the combined stack, and the image size has been reduced, also to decrease noise. The focal length is around 1300mm. There are still problems, as in the bottom left corner, but I am getting close. I think I know what I'm doing with collimation now, at least.

NGC2174 (10-2-2010)

2010-10-24T01:45:00.005-05:00

NGC 2174 is the nebular complex. (More details later.)

IC 348 (10-2-2010)

2010-10-24T01:19:00.005-05:00

IC 348 is the star cluster at the center of this image. It is being formed from a large cloud of gas, mostly hydrogen, about 1040 light years away. The space to the right of the cluster seems more barren of stars because the cloud of gas and dust, from which the stars are forming, blocks the light of the forming stars and the light of the stars behind the cloud. This image is 20x480" through an Astronomik Ha filter. It therefore shows only the hydrogen emission line. Full spectrum images of this area also show light reflecting from the hydrogen clouds and nearby dust and gas.

Cederblad 214 (9&10-2010)

2010-10-19T23:31:00.015-05:00

After the Pelican Nebula set behind the trees, this nebula in Cepheus was nicely positioned for a three hour set of sub-frames. During the long stretch of clear nights in September and early October, I could end the Pelican set around 1 am, then slew over to Ced 214 and begin another three hour set. This nebula is mapped similarly to the Pelican, in the Hubble Palette. Exposure times here were Ha=27x8'; OIII=30x8'; SII=38x8'. Processing was done in Neb2, Maxim DL 5, Registar, and PS CS3. The Ha is below:

Pelican Redux

2010-10-14T00:00:00.009-05:00

This is the same data as earlier this month, but the color for this image was done in PS CS3. This method gives me more control over the color balance and intensity and makes it easier to make other changes later. I processed this to be closer to the actual strength of the data that I obtained. I believe this resulted in the colors being less grainy and the contrast more vivid. Thanks for looking.

The Great Nebula in Orion (9&10-2010)

2010-10-12T08:46:00.018-05:00

This nebula is one of the most famous in the sky. It is visible without optical aid in the belt of Orion's sword. It is basically a huge cloud of gas and dust, mostly hydrogen, that is coalescing to form stars. The stars just lower left of center are newly formed and are sending out the radiation that makes the clouds of gas glow. The four bright stars are called the Trapezium. Actually, there is a knot of stars there. This image was shot at a focal length of 500mm, not enough resolution to allow the other stars to be seen clearly. This nebula is a stunning sight in a telescope. These colors are false, but in a large scope the entire nebula takes on a greenish glow that contrasts with the stars and with the dark sky behind it.

This image is about 2 hours per narrowband channel: Ha (mapped to green), OIII (blue), and SII (red). I also took a string of 30-second Ha exposures designed to show the four stars at the core of the nebula without totally blowing it out. Processing was done in Neb2, Maxim DL, Registar, and PS CS3. This is another image gathered with the 120mm achromat and the Atik 16. It's turned out to be a nice combination.

More Soap Bubble (10-6-10)

2010-10-07T12:21:00.009-05:00

Here is what I know how to do with the Soap Bubble Nebula. I gathered more data this week. This is 92x8' (50x8' of H-alpha and 42x8' of OIII). It was processed in Neb2, Maxim, Registar, and PS CS3. The two sets were combined using Steve Cannistra's Bi-Color Narrowband technique. I'd be happy for any suggestions as to how to improve the image.

The Soap Bubble Nebula, called by scientists PN G75.5+1.7, actually looks alot like Abell 39, another planetary nebula, discovered in the 1960s. My image of Abell 39 is here. I would like to revisit Abell 39 someday.

Soap Bubble Nebula (9-30-2010)

2010-10-02T16:39:00.011-05:00

Dave Jurasevich, an amateur astronomer, discovered this planetary nebula in 2008 while trying to image something else (see here). Keith Quattrocchi and and Melvin Helm found it independently a few days later (see here). It is very faint, actually, but here it is. This image is 20x8' in H-alpha and 11x8' in OIII, taken with the Atik 16, processed in Neb 2, Maxim DL 5, and PS CS3, mostly just stretched until it almost breaks. This image is black and white, inverted, and equalized in PS.

Can you see the bubble in these other iterations? The first is black and white, and the second is similar to natural color, with Ha as red.

Pelican in Narrowband (9-2010) - Prelim

2010-10-02T15:13:00.010-05:00

This is my first full narrowband image with the Orion 120mm achromat at f/4. This is what I think is the most interesting part of the Pelican Nebula in the constellation Cygnus. The colors are not what the eye would see. Most of the glowing, ionized gas here emits light that would appear red to our eyes. But here, so that we can more easily see what is going on, glowing hydrogen is colored green, glowing oxygen blue, and glowing sulphur red. Yellow is where red and green glow together. The energetic stars embedded in the nebula energize the gas and set it aglow. North is to the right in this image.

The most interesting part of the nebula is the dark finger that reaches up from the ionization front. At the top of this finger is a relatively small, dense cloud of gas and dust slowing being worn away by radiation from the stars lighting the nebula. Hidden in the cloud, a star is being born. We cannot see the star inside the cloud, but the newly-forming star is shooting jets out to the north and south. The jets are visible in this image. The radiation that makes the gas glow is pushing the jets down to one side. This interesting object is called by scientists Herbig-Haro 555.

This image is the product of just over 10 hours of 7 minute exposures added together. H-alpha (hydrogen) was 45x7', OIII (oxygen) 22x7', and SII (sulphur) 20x7'. The image was taken with the Atik 16 from my backyard over three nights in late September, 2010.

The Flame Nebula (9-27&28-2010) - Prelim

2010-09-30T09:12:00.009-05:00

This image is 22x7' in Ha and 19x7' in SII, using Astronomik filters, taken with the Atik 16 through the Orion 120mm refractor at f/4 (with the WO 0.8x II fr/fr). Ha was used as luminance and mapped to red and green; SII was mapped to blue. Processing was done in Neb 2, Maxim DL 5, and PS CS3.

First Light with the Orion 120mm f/5 w/ 0.8 Reducer Achromat Astrograph: A Pelican Preliminary

2010-09-28T13:25:00.009-05:00

A few weeks ago I saw advertised on Cloudy Nights an adapter that would allow me to attach my Feathertouch focuser to an Orion 120mm f/5 achromatic refractor. I didn't own one at the time, but it occurred to me that perhaps the WO 0.8x II reducer/flattener that I do own would work with this scope, which has a focal length of 600mm. An f/5 x 0.8 would yield an f/4, and a 120mm f/4 refractor sounds like a honey of an astrograph. It could only be used for narrowband imaging, but that's all I can do when the moon is full, and it's fascinating work, anyway. I made an offer to buy the adapter, then went looking for a used scope. I found one a few days later. With adapter and scope put together, I waited for a clear night. Here we are.

This image is 18x420" through the Orion 120mm f/4 achromat astrograph, with WO 0.8x II reducer/flattener and an Astronomik 12nm Ha filter. The camera was the Atik 16. The image needs a bit more time. I hope to get that tonight, but this is a promising result for a used scope that, with adapter, cost less than $300.

Albireo (9-15-10)

2010-09-16T10:44:00.004-05:00

On some nights of imaging, nothing works. I took the AT8RC out to see what I could do with it. I couldn't do much. I did not have the optics aligned correctly, and I was getting flexure between the guide camera and imager. So it turned out none of my stars were round. I was tired, too, but I wanted to try. Clear nights don't come around often. This was the only shot all night that worked, and this only halfway. Only by shrinking it down could I hide the slightly out of shape stars. I did get one frame of M45, too, but just a single sub---not enough to post.

Albireo is the beak of Cygnus, the Swan. It is a beautiful pair of stars, one that many look for each time they go out in the summer to observe. Albireo is about 380 light years away. The two components may or may not revolve around each other. The brighter star is itself a double star, so if the two components seen here revolve around each other, then Albireo is a triple star system.