Swan Nebula (M17)

This image was taken from my deck in Abbotsford on July 12, 2013.  It consists of 9 10-minute images registered and combined in CCDStack and processed in Photoshop CS5.

The Swan Nebula is located in the rich star fields of Sagittarius 5,000 light years away.  It is a close neighbour of M16. Bright but obscured stars, about 20 times more massive than the Sun, are hidden in the nebulousity. Radiation from these stars is ionizing the cloud of hydrogen gas.  The bright central region is the result of light emitted from the hottest gas, mixed with reflected light from the embedded stars.

Trifid Nebula (M20)

This image was taken from my deck in Abbotsford on July 15, 2013.  It consists of 8 10-minute images registered and combined in CCDStack and processed in Photoshop CS5.

The Trifid Nebula is in Sagittarius 5,000 light years away.  It gets its name from its three-lobed appearance, and contains both red emission from ionized hydrogen and blue reflection of star light from dust grains.

Bubble Nebula (C11)

This image was taken from my deck in Abbotsford in August  4 & 7, 2013.  It consists of 27 10-minute images registered and combined in CCDStack and processed in Photoshop CS5.

The Bubble Nebula is in Cassiopeia 11,000 light years away.  It is a planetary nebula visible as a large shell around a central star.  The bubble is about 10 light years across and was created by fierce stellar winds from the hot, massive central star, which has blasted out the structure of glowing gas.

Eagle Nebula (M16)

This image was taken in Abbotsford on July 9th, 2013.  It consists of 7 10-minute subs registered and combined in CCDStack and finished in Photoshop CS5. The guiding was not as good as previous nights and I stopped taking subs earlier than intended. The stars are not as round as I would like. I will realign the mount at the next opportunity and resume imaging.  The image is still worth posting, despite the poorer than normal guiding.

The Eagle Nebula is in Serpens (in the south-eastern sky) about 6,000 light years away.  The center of the nebula is an area of active star formation.  The slightly darker structures in the center are the "Pillars of Creation" made famous by a 1995 image taken from the Hubble Space Telescope.

Pelican Nebula

This image was taken on July 6th & 8th 2013 from my back deck in Abbotsford. The image consists of 18 10-minute subs registered and combined in CCDStack and finished in Photoshop CS5.

The Pelican Nebula is in Cygnus about 2,000 light years away. Dark dust clouds help define the Pelican' eye and long bill, while a bright front of ionized hydrogen gas suggests the curved head and neck.

Elephant Trunk Nebula (IC1396)

This image was taken on July 2nd & 3rd in Abbotsford.  A somewhat rare occurrence here: four clear dark nights in a row. The image consists of 18 15-minute subs registered and combined in CCDStack and finished in Photoshop CS5.

The Elephant Trunk (upper right) is a concentration of interstellar gas and dust in Cepheus about 3,000 light years away.

Cocoon Nebula (C19)

This image was taken from my back deck in Abbotsford on June 30th and July 1st 2013.  It consists of 18 15-minute subs registered and combined in CCDStack and finished in Photoshop CS5.

The Cocoon Nebula is in Cygnus about 3,300 light years away.

Cave Nebula (C9)

This image was taken from my back deck in Abbotsford in June 2013. It consists of a 14 15-minute subs, registered and combined in CCDStack and finished in Photoshop CS5.

The Cave Nebula is in Cepheus about 2,700 light years away.

Iris Nebula (C4)

This image was taken from my back deck in Abbotsford in June 2013.  It consists of 5, 10 and 15 minute subs registered and combined in CCDStack and finished in Photoshop CS5.  The total exposure time was four hours.

The Iris nebula is a reflection nebula in Cepheus about 1,400 light years away. the blue colour is caused by starlight reflected from dust grains.

Pinwheel Galaxy (M101)

This image was taken from my back deck in Abbotsford in May 2013. It consists of 22 10-minute subs, registered and combined in CCDStack and finished in Photoshop CS5.

The Pinwheel Galaxy is in Ursa Major about 22 million light years away.

Whirlpool Galaxy (M51)

This image was taken from my back deck in Abbotsford in May 2013.  It consists of 18 10-minute subs registered and combined in CCDStack and finished in Photoshop CS5. The Whirlpool Galaxy is in Canes Venactici about 24 million light years away.

Imaging Setup

This is my imaging setup on my back deck in Abbotsford. I have some new components added in the past year. The setup is as follows:

iEQ45 mount
Stellarvue 115 triplet imaging scope with Atik 460ex CCD camera (1.4 arc sec/pixel)
Stellarvue 70mm guide scope with QHY5 camera (2.6 arc sec/pixel)

I acquire the images using Nebulosity 2 and guide using PHD.  The raw images are registered and combined in CCDStack, and then finished in Photoshop CS5. My laptop operating system is Microsoft 7.

Thor's Helmet (NGC 2359)

This image was taken from my observatory in Tucson in March 2013. It is a stack of 20 15-minute subs, ccombined in CCDStack and processed in Photoshop CS5.

Thor's Helmet is in Canis Major about 1,800 light years away. It is similar in structure to the Bubble nebula and is formed by a solar wind from its central star. Its diameter is about 30 light years.

Bubble Nebula & M52

I haven't posted an image for some time.  I have been taking images and will try to make more regular posts for those interested.

The above image was taken from my observing site in Tucson in March 2013.  It consists of a stack of 14 15-minute subs, combined in CCDStack and processed in Photoshop CS5. The Bubble Nebula is in Cassiopeia about 1,400 light years away. The bubble was created by a fierce solar wind from the hot central star. M52 is the open cluster of stars in the lower right corner.  It is 4,600 light years away.