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.